


So Close Yet So Far - Can I Go Home Yet?

by JLub (Aprotny)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, I wrote this before Season 3 of YJ, Not Canon Compliant, Wally West is Alive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-02-08 04:38:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 24,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21470188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aprotny/pseuds/JLub
Summary: Shortly after the events of Young Justice Season One, Robin (Dick Grayson) was kidnapped and sent to Apokolips via a sleeper pod. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned and he ends up in Pallet Town, on the Pokemon World. Will he make it through the consequences of the misdirected course? Why is it so hard to just go home? (Disregards Season 3 as it had not yet been announced when the majority of this was written. Some characters may be OOC.)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

**“Language of Pokemon World”**

_ “Romani” _

“English”

“Names before Dick understands other language”

* * *

“I never want to see your stupid face ever again!”

To say Dick regretted those words, the last words he would say to Bruce for a long time, would be an understatement.

He had run away just to get captured by the Light, who had decided to send him in a sleeper pod to the Apokoliptans. He didn’t know how long he’d been in the pod before he had landed on this planet, but at least he hadn’t reached Apokolips. That would have been even more disastrous, not that landing on another planet where he didn’t know anyone or speak the language wasn’t disastrous enough as it was. Heavy on the dis. At least the natives looked like him. He might be able to blend in once he learned the language.

As it was, he was now staring up at a town full of natives all wondering who he was and how he got there.

He moved to get out of the sleeper pod. The natives all jumped into defensive positions. 

Dick sighed. Once he was out of the sleeper pod, he stood next to it and raised his hands as a sign of surrender. At least that was what it meant on Earth. He hoped it meant the same here.

The animals (probably not called animals here, but he’d figure out what they were called later) all looked at him curiously, sensing he was not a threat to their people.

After a tense few moments, the natives looked at their animals and, taking in their relaxed stances, calmed down.

A woman with brown hair stepped forward and spoke to Dick in a kind tone. Dick hoped the look of utter confusion on his face was enough to convey he didn’t understand her.

The woman turned back and said something in her language to her fellow natives.

A couple nodded while most still seemed worried and a few shook their heads.

An older man spoke to the woman, who nodded in answer to his question. The older man seemed hesitant but eventually seemed to consent to whatever the decision was.

The decision, Dick learned a little later, was that this woman would take him in while they were trying to figure out what to do about his situation, whatever that situation may be.

Once they reached the woman’s house, she turned to Dick and pointed to herself.

“Delia.” She said.

Dick blinked in confusion a moment before understanding. He pointed to himself as well. “Dick.”

Delia nodded and let him into the house. It surprised Dick how close the architecture on this planet was to that on Earth. The houses here were very similar to suburban or rural communities on Earth. There was a lot more nature though, and tons of those animals.

Over the next few days, Delia and Dick figured out a system of communication for essential needs, such as food and water. Some motions in both their cultures were similar, such as shaking the head for ‘no’ and nodding for ‘yes’. Seemingly, the sign Dick had used for surrender was similar too. The animals were called ‘Pokemon’, Dick learned. 

He had yet to learn much else when a raven-haired boy with Delia’s eyes who was not much younger than Dick came into the house one day, shortly after Dick’s arrival on the planet, while Delia was out.

For a few minutes, the boy glared at Dick. The Pokemon present on his shoulder also glared at him. Dick just stared back at them.

The boy said something Dick didn’t understand. He figured the boy was asking where Delia was. He shrugged his shoulders, hoping the boy wouldn’t ask any more questions.

As if on cue, Delia stepped in the front door, a grocery bag in hand, the Pokemon Dick had identified as ‘Mimey’ right behind her with more groceries.

“Ash!” Delia exclaimed, followed by some words that Dick assumed meant ‘what a pleasant surprise’.

Dick pointed to the boy and inquired. “Ash?”

Delia nodded, and then spoke to Ash in their language. Dick heard his name a couple of times and assumed she was telling Ash about him.

Ash frowned, and then sighed. He cast a wary glance at Dick, but seemed to realize Delia’s decision was already made.

He walked over to Dick and held his hand out. “Ash.”

Dick smiled, stood up from the couch, and shook his hand. “Dick.”

Delia clapped her hands and said something happily. Dick assumed she was happy they met and wanted them to get to know each other.

Weeks passed. Ash and Dick played nice at first, but soon tentative friendship blossomed into real friendship. Ash taught Dick his language, while Dick picked a language he figured was most similar to Ash’s language to teach Ash. That language was Romani, and Ash picked it up fast (after Dick’s failed attempt at teaching him English). Dick, with his natural skill at learning languages, managed to pick up Ash’s language quickly as well.

**“You boys ought to teach me something of Dick’s language,** ” Delia said one day as they were eating lunch.  **“At least he can understand us now, though.** ”

**“You can’t say we didn’t try,** ” Ash replied, for he had tried his best to teach his mother the new words he’d been learning. She just couldn’t remember or understand them.

“ **Thank you for lunch,” ** Dick added in near-fluency. “ **Ash said he’d show me the nearby woods after we’re finished eating. Something about getting me a Pokemon of my own.** ”

Sure enough, the first place they went after lunch was the woods, Pikachu trailing behind them

_ “I don’t get why I need to have my own pokemon, Ash,” _ Dick mentioned as they hiked deeper in.  _ “The Green Lanterns will find me eventually _ .”

_ “Do they even know you were sent off of Earth? For all you know, they could think you’re dead. It would be better for you to have a companion to bide your time with. A Pokemon could help you fit in better too.” _

Dick sighed, but decided to roll with it. He knew deep down that the Green Lanterns might never find him, but it couldn’t hurt to dream, could it?

That was when they both heard a screeching sound. Exchanging a look of surprise, Ash, Pikachu, and Dick hurried towards the sound.

Some Fearow were pecking at an egg, which was pulsing dangerously.

“ **They’ll kill it! We have to do something!”** Before Ash even finished the statement, Dick was fighting off the Fearow on his own. The elder boy grabbed the egg and started running back the way they’d come from.

Ash and Pikachu raced after him.

“ **Dick! Set it down! It’s hatching!”**

Dick glanced back at him before diving into a nearby den. Pikachu Thunderbolted the Fearow while Ash followed Dick in. Ash turned back to Pikachu and started helping him out by shouting strategic moves at him. Dick knew that was the way it was done here, but he didn’t like the idea of Pokemon battles.

Carefully, he set the glowing, pulsing egg onto the ground in the middle of the den. Less than a second after he did so, the egg changed form. The light went away to reveal a small, brown, fox-like Pokemon with a bushy tail.

“Eevee?” The Pokemon murmured weakly.

“It’s alright, little one. I’ll protect you.” Dick soothed it in English, not even thinking how the Pokemon probably didn’t understand him.

To his surprise, the Pokemon crawled into his arms and fell asleep.

“ **It’s sick** ,” Ash told him, coming up behind him with Pikachu on his shoulder. “ **We need to get it to Professor Oak** .”

Dick nodded and carefully lifted the Pokemon into his arms.  **“Which Pokemon is it?** ”

“ **It’s an Eevee,** ” Ash replied as they exited the den, the Fearow now gone, and started running towards the town again. 

Barely two minutes later, they bounded up the hill to Professor Oak’s laboratory. Ash didn’t bother knocking. He opened the door and went straight in. Dick followed a bit more tentatively, not wanting to enter without permission as he was still somewhat a stranger in this town.

He found Ash explaining the situation to the older man who’d spoken to Delia when Dick had first arrived on the planet.

The older man, Professor Oak apparently, turned sharply towards him and then noticed the Eevee in his arms. His expression changed.

“ **Oh dear! Follow me!** ” Professor Oak led Dick and Ash, holding Eevee and Pikachu respectively, into a room that seemed to be dedicated to medical purposes.

He took Eevee from Dick, who was a little hesitant to give it up, and set it on a table.

He then sent Ash to get various herbs and stuff a couple of times, but pretty much ignored Dick.

**“She’ll need some rest. It would be best if I kept her overnight for observation.” ** Even with the diagnosis, he ignored Dick and only spoke to Ash.

**“She just hatched. She’ll want to stay with Dick,” ** Ash replied.

Professor Oak glanced at Dick and lowered his voice, still speaking to Ash. “ **Do you really think you can trust that boy? He’s from another planet. He could be a shapeshifter who only looks human because he wants to trick us.** ”

Dick frowned deeply, but pretended not to understand what Professor Oak had said.

“ **And that’s a reason not to trust him? He’s lost on a planet not his own. Somebody needs to trust him,”** Ash defended, “ **If Mom trusts him, I do too.** ”

Professor Oak sighed but let it be.  **“Fine. Take Eevee with you then. I don’t want alien boy staying at my lab.** ”

Outside the lab, Dick turned to Ash, who was holding Eevee and had Pikachu on his shoulder.  _ “Is Professor Oak always so untrusting _ ?”

“ _ No. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.” _ Ash handed Eevee to Dick.  **“You hold her. She’s your responsibility now.** ”

Dick gazed down at the female Eevee in his arms and froze up. This was a newborn Pokemon, and she was his responsibility. What if he messed up?

Ash seemed to guess his thoughts. “ **Don’t worry. Even if you do make a mistake, she’ll forgive you.”**

“Eva.” Dick murmured.

“ **What?”**

“ **Her name’s Eva now.”**

Ash smiled.  **“That’s the spirit. Let’s get Eva home, okay?** ”

* * *

It didn’t take long for Eva to warm up to her saviors, especially Dick. In fact, she was all over Dick after only five hours of knowing him.

**“She’s looking for the perfect spot to sit on you,** ” Ash laughed. “ **Or poop on you.** ”

“ **Hey!”** Dick shoved Ash. “ **Not funny!” ** Ash raised an eyebrow. “ **Okay. Kind of funny. Anyways, I’m glad she’s feeling better. I feel like she should be resting though.”**

**“Probably. But she’ll only do it if you tell her to,”** Ash pointed out.

“ **Okay. Naptime, Eva!” ** Dick called, only to find Eva already fast asleep on his head. “ **Well she fell asleep fast.** ”

**“She likes you.** ” Delia piped up.  **“Dinner’s ready, by the way.** ”

The boys trooped over to the dinner table, Dick being careful not to wake the newborn Eevee as he moved her off his head.

At dinner, Delia brought up a topic they hadn’t touched on before. “ **Ash, it’s been a bit since you came home. Are you going back on your Pokemon journey soon?** ”

Dick swallowed what was in his mouth and looked at Ash, who had paused in his eating. “ **What’s a Pokemon journey** ?”

Ash tapped his fork against his plate, thinking. “ **I was trying not to think about it much.** ” He put his fork down. “ **It did come to mind though. I guess I’d just feel bad leaving Dick behind. He still doesn’t know much about our world.** ”

“ **You could take him with you.** ” Delia pointed out. “ **What better way to learn than by going on a Pokemon journey** ?”

“ **What’s a Pokemon journey** ?” Dick arched an eyebrow, repeating his question.

“ **One course of action for kids on our planet is to become Pokemon trainers. To do that, they receive a starter pokemon and go on a Pokemon journey shortly after turning ten.** ”

“ **Ten? That’s so young** !” Dick spluttered. Sure he’d been fighting crime at the age of ten, but not alone. He’d had Batman with him. He still remembered the disapproval of some of their allies when he first started out, too. Most of that disapproval was in relation to his age.

“ **True, but our planet’s a rather safe one. It’s not an uncommon path. We parents worry, of course, but the kids typically group up quickly rather than traveling alone, and they have pokemon with them. It’s a good way to make friends and learn about the world around us. Ash started when he was ten. He’s rarely home this long, but he’s happy traveling, so I don’t mind.** ”

Dick glanced at Ash. “ **You did say having a Pokemon would help me blend in better. Is this why?** ”

Ash shrugged. “ **Partly, yeah. You don’t have to come with though. You can stay here if you want. I’ll come back to visit.** ” He scooped some food onto his fork. “ **It’s kind of boring staying at home though. Journeys are fun. You meet so many new people and Pokemon and see so many places you wouldn’t have otherwise.** ”

Dick pondered that. “ **I… I guess I wouldn’t mind seeing what all the buzz is about. I’m sure the Green Lanterns will be able to track me down regardless.** ”

He pretended not to see Delia and Ash exchange looks at his reasoning. The Green Lanterns would come. He knew they would.


	2. Chapter 2

Two years. He’d been on the World of Pokemon for two years. Yet somehow, he still held hope that the Green Lanterns would find him. He knew, deep down, that they would probably never, but that didn’t stop him from hoping they would. If only he knew what his wishes would bring…

Dick had taken to following Ash everywhere, and they were commonly mistaken as brothers. Dick had not taken in any Pokemon following Eva. He insisted to Ash that one Pokemon was enough for him, especially if he’d have to keep the others in those infernal pokeballs. Eva seemed content enough training with Dick as an opponent rather than other Pokemon, as Dick was not a big fan of Pokemon battles. Ash would shake his head at Dick’s decision to spar with Eva, but, like many of Dick’s other decisions, he let it be, especially since Dick could hold his own perfectly fine against the little Eevee.

They were at a Pokemon Center in Hoenn, visiting some friends of Ash’s, when the news came through. The Pokemon Champions had been captured by a group of ‘things’ that many suspected to have come from outer space. There was not yet a consensus as to whether they were people or Pokemon, but a mere blurry image of them was enough for Dick. It was the Apokoliptans, and they were here for Dick.

The Apokoliptans made their demands in English. They wanted Dick to come to them, and stated their coordinates for only him to understand.

Dick was out of breath as Ash slowly turned to him. “Dick?”

“ _ I need a computer _ .”

“ **What?** ”

“ _ Computer.” _

Ash nodded and led him to the computers in the lobby. After Ash signed him on, Dick quickly searched up the coordinates that had been given to him.

“ **Spear Pillar? Mount Coronet? What do you want with...”**

“ _ How do I get there? _ ”

By now, people were staring, as Dick wasn’t bothering to use the local language.

Understanding bled into Ash’s eyes. “ **I’ll take you** .”

Dick looked at him in alarm. “Ash…”

“ _ If you really think I’ll let you go alone, you’re stupid. _ ”

Dick knew that look of determination by now. He doubted he’d be able to shake Ash off even with his best efforts, so he gave a slow nod as a sign of acceptance.

“ **Ash, what’s going on?”** Ash’s friends May, Max, and Brock were standing in the doorway leading to the room where the television set stood.

“ **There’s something me and Dick need to do. We’ll be back soon.** ” Dick doubted he was the only one who caught the hesitation in the second part of Ash’s statement.

The trip to Mount Coronet took six days. Dick worried it was too long even though the Apokoliptans had given exactly one week to reach the place before they started killing off the champions. He doubted his enemies were known for their patience.

“ **It’ll take several hours to reach Spear Pillar from here. We should rest a little.”** Ash suggested. Dick gave him a look. Ash shrugged. “ **That’s what Brock would say, at least.”**

They entered a Pokemart. “ **Stock up with whatever you think we need for the climb.”** Dick told his friend.

Ash obeyed.

“ **Where might you two boys be heading?** ” The shopkeeper asked them as they checked out.

“ **Top of Mount Coronet** .” Dick replied.

“ **Be careful.** ” The man warned. “ **Locals have been reporting odd noises near the top and have had trouble reaching the peak.** ”

“ **Thank you for the warning, Sir. We’ll be careful.** ” Ash told him. Dick nodded in agreement.

They left and started the hike to the top, discussing the plan in soft voices while Ash led the way. They were nearly at Spear Pillar when Dick yanked Ash into the bushes and covered his mouth. A moment later, an Apokoliptan passed by.

“ _ Remember the plan _ .” Dick hissed in Ash’s ear.

_ “Be careful. _ ” Ash whispered.

“ _ Same to you _ . _ Point where I need to go. _ ” Ash pointed to the entrance to Spear Pillar and turned to see Dick already gone, and Pikachu and Eva standing at attention, ready to start the plan.

Ash listened carefully, sneaking closer as he did so. He had only Pikachu and Eva to help him free the Champions while Dick served as the distraction.

A loud, creepy laughter sounded. Ash figured it was Dick’s famous cackle that he’d used as Robin, aka Ash’s cue. He nodded to Pikachu and Eva, who forged ahead while he snuck into the cave after them.

The place was smokey, thanks to Dick’s actions, but Pikachu’s voice led Ash where he needed to go.

He barely saw Cynthia before he bumped into her. The champion flinched. Nearby, Lance murmured. “ **I can’t see a thing** .”

“ **Something just bumped into me** .” Cynthia whispered. “ **What do you think it could’ve been?** ”

“ **I heard the voice of a Pikachu. Could it be?** ” Diantha added.

Their voices covered the small sound of Ash, Pikachu, and Eva breaking their chains.

“ **Don’t be ridiculous. These freaks haven’t used our language once. The person you’re thinking of couldn’t possibly have found us.** ” Steven retorted.

Ash was just breaking the last champion’s chains when the smoke began to clear.

He was unprepared for Dick’s shout of  _ “Look out! _ ” and the red discs that surrounded him and sent a shock through him.

“Ahh!” He screamed. He felt the discs deactivate but had no time to recover before he was grabbed.

“ **Run! We’ll be right behind you!** ” Dick shouted at the champions. The whole lot of them hesitated before running. It especially took a little extra persuasion for Cynthia to leave, namely Pikachu sending a Thunderbolt at her feet.

Pikachu and Eva were soon captured as well and Dick was forced to surrender himself on the threat of Ash’s life.

“Klarion. Time to go.” One of the Apokoliptans said. Klarion appeared through a portal.

“Leave them behind!” Dick shouted at them.

“Now why would we do that?” Klarion laughed. “After all, we’ll need a little persuasion, won’t we?”

A larger portal swept over all of them: Ash, Dick, Klarion, the Apokoliptans, and the two Pokemon. Then, they were on Apokolips and Vandal Savage was standing in front of them.

“I see you’ve made a friend since you managed to evade our clutches, Robin.” Savage was the first to speak as he approached Ash. “I almost feel sorry for him.” He grabbed Ash’s chin with one hand. “After all, he’ll be receiving the punishment if you ever disobey us.”

“Leave him alone!” Dick shouted, using his skills to break free of the two Apokoliptans holding him.

Savage acted quickly as well. A dagger was in Ash’s leg before Dick could reach them. Ash screamed.

“Pikapi!”

“Eev! Eevee!”

“Stay back if you don’t want him hurt worse.” Savage sneered as Dick skidded to a halt, soon to be grabbed again. “It may be too late for us to use you against the League as a bargaining chip, but I can see the opportunity for you to work for us.”

“N-never!” Dick stammered, but Savage could easily tell the hesitation as the boy’s eyes were stuck on the blood oozing out of Ash’s leg.

Savage twisted the dagger, resulting in an even louder, pained scream.

“Stop! I’ll do it! Just leave him alone!” Dick cried. Ash’s screams diminished to whimpers, tears still streaming down his face.

“Good boy. Take them away. Make sure Robin can’t find them without assistance.” Dick reached for his friends as they were taken who-knows-where, but Savage swatted his arm away. “You. Come with me.”

Dick hesitantly followed, Apokoliptans flanking him on either side. He knew it was the start of the end for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still figuring out the aging thing on Ash's end. I want him to be younger, but he's ten when he starts his journey and I want him to be 15 or 16 next chapter. I'm still working on the math. Originally I had him and Dick meeting when he's 13-ish and Dick is still 14 (space pods stunt growth and aging), but different aging for different planets and kids starting journeys when they're so young... it's throwing me off, so I've got to think about it. Any suggestions welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

“The Light has a new player. He doesn’t seem to have powers, but managed to take down three Justice Leaguers with very little weaponry.” The Team stood at attention for Aqualad and Artemis in front of the holographic computers. “He would’ve taken down more if Superman and Batman hadn’t arrived when they did. When they confronted him, he fled the scene, seemingly not believing he could take them, and those who arrived shortly after them, down alone. The League would like us to sneak into one of the Apokoliptan bases and find information on this guy. We’ll be split into two teams, Artemis will lead one team; I will lead the other.” Aqualad split up the teams. Artemis, Batgirl, Kid Flash, Lagoon Boy, Beast Boy, Superboy, and Miss Martian on Alpha team. Bumblebee, Blue Beetle, Impulse, Wondergirl, Robin, Static, Guardian, and himself on Beta.

Each team took a different base. Alpha took a base located on a Apokoliptan ship in outer space, while Beta took a base on Earth, close to where the new player had been seen last.

After entering the Earth base and sneaking around a bit, Beta heard a commotion. It sounded like a slap.

“Don’t you dare talk back to me!” The voice sounded a bit like Vandal Savage’s.

“I wasn’t! I just…” The second voice was familiar to Aqualad as well, but he couldn’t place it.

“Next time you are out there, I want you to bring Batman down, not flee from him like a pathetic little kid! One more mistake, and your stupid friend is dead, do you hear me?!”

“Please! Don’t…”

“DO YOU HEAR ME?!”

“Yes sir…”

“Now, we have visitors. Be a good boy and show them how it’s done around here.”

A bang sounded and Aqualad heard an especially familiar gasp. 

Robin had been in the vents, radioing the conversation to those on lookout duty, when Savage shot the vent cover and sent him tumbling out. He rolled on the landing and quickly had to dodge a bo staff that was jabbed at him.

Beta team came to his rescue in fighting off his attacker and Savage was gone in an instant. The attacker managed to hold his own well before Static managed to get a good hit on him, stunning him just long enough for Aqualad to knock him out. After a couple minutes collecting their unconscious, Beta team was forced to retreat as reinforcements for the other side arrived.

* * *

~Martian Mind Link~

Alpha team had gotten their data quickly and effortlessly. However, on their way out, Miss Martian felt fearful, pained emotions nearby. Switching to camouflage mode, she made her way into a small room. In the room were several cages, most of them empty. Two of the cages were occupied, each with a creature she’d never seen before. Quickly, she used her powers to let them out, assuming they were the ones afraid.

~Miss Martian, where are you?~ Superboy called to her through the mind link.

The two creatures she’d just freed squirmed out of her arms and ran opposite the direction Miss Martian needed to go.

~I sensed something. I think someone on this ship is in danger.~ Miss Martian replied.

~That’s not our mission.~ Artemis stated.

~You want me to just leave them?~ Miss Martian retorted.

~Everyone’s on the Bioship. Come on.~ Artemis urged.

~I can’t just leave them. They’re scared.~ Miss Martian responded.

Artemis sighed. ~Superboy’s coming after you. Keep the link up.~

~Got it.~ Miss Martian hurried after the two creatures, figuring they thought she was with the Apokoliptans and not wanting to leave them behind.

As she followed, she began to hear a muted screaming.

“Pika-chu!” A voice cried, followed by the sound of a door being knocked down. The screaming got louder.

Miss Martian followed the sound of the screaming. She arrived at the location to see several Apokoliptans down and out. The alarm sounded shortly thereafter while the screaming quieted down.

In the middle of the unconscious Apokoliptans lay a human boy. He was covered in his own blood and seemed to be dying. He weakly lifted his hand to touch one of the creatures that Miss Martian had freed. “ **Pikachu… I… love you…** ”

“Pikapi! Pika! Pika!” The yellow creature cried as the boy’s hand slid to the ground.

“Do you know CPR?!” Miss Martian jumped. She hadn’t heard Superboy come in. She nodded.

“Then do it! His heart just stopped beating and I’m way too strong to do it myself.”

Miss Martian got to work while Superboy breathed for the blood-covered boy.

The two creatures sat nearby with anxious eyes.

“Okay. Got it. Let’s go!” Superboy announced, scooping up the boy. “You take them; I’ll take him. Come on!”

Miss Martian scooped up the two small creatures and flew after Superboy as the base started to lock down. They barely made it to the Bioship before the exit locked down behind them.

Miss Martian set the two creatures down and they scurried after Superboy, who had brought the boy to the back of the Bioship while Artemis flew them back to the Watchtower. Miss Martian shared what she knew of the boy’s condition and Artemis poured on the speed, while Batgirl sent a message to Batman to let him know the situation. The rest of Alpha Team just sat in their seats, unsure of how to help.

They arrived back at the same time as Beta Team, who came toting three unconscious team members. All four injured were whisked away to the Med Bay and the rest of the Team was left to debrief. Batman was present during the debrief as well, but he didn’t say anything, letting Artemis and Aqualad handle it all.

After the debrief, Batgirl set to work decoding the stolen information, asking them to leave her alone to do it unless they were bringing Robin to help her out.

It took her fifteen minutes to decode the info. She read it all in twenty.

“It’s too vague.” She told Artemis, who had come to check on her progress. “I can’t tell who this person is, just that they nabbed him from some other planet about a year ago. Supposedly he was lost for a while, and they’ve gained leverage against him since then.”

“So this guy isn’t inherently evil? Or willingly on the Light’s side? That’s the same conclusion Beta team came to after overhearing that conversation. It seems the evidence backs them up.”

“Unfortunately, that’s the only conclusion we can make from this. There’s no saying who this guy could be. It could be someone we know; it could not be. As long as our enemies have leverage over him, though, he’s going to do what they say.”

“In other words, we could get him on our side, but only once we figure out what they’re using to make him obey.” Neither girl had noticed Aqualad join them.

“Judging by the course the war against the Apokoliptans is taking, it might be our best option.” Batgirl noted.

“From what we managed to gather, the leverage was a living being. Savage threatened the life of his ‘friend’. I doubt his friend is an inanimate object.” Aqualad put in.

“Could be a robot.” Kid Flash mentioned, munching on a protein bar as he walked over to them.

“A robot could be rebuilt. Whoever this guy’s friend is, I doubt that he or she has the same privilege.” Artemis pointed out.

Bumblebee came over, along with the rest of the team sans Robin, Wondergirl, and Guardian, who were the ones in the Med Bay. “Find anything?”

“We believe we can get the guy Beta fought on our side if we figure out what leverage our enemies are holding over him.” Batgirl summarized. “And we think that leverage is a living being.”

“How do you know we haven’t already rescued him?” Superboy spoke up. Everyone turned to him. “In the conversation that Robin recorded, Savage specifically stated that the friend would be killed if this guy made one more mistake. You knocked him out, and then we found that kid currently in the Med Bay on the brink of death, having been seriously injured by the Apokoliptans. It could be a coincidence, but it also could not be.”

“You think that kid you and M’gann saved was being used as leverage?” Beast Boy asked.

“We won’t know until he wakes up.” Superboy replied.

“Maybe not. If we show him live footage of the Med Bay, the guy might react.” Batgirl suggested. “It’s worth a shot.”

The rest of the Team seemed doubtful, but reluctantly agreed to the suspectedly futile plan that came next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So I'm giving up on figuring out the aging. Ash is younger than Dick in some way. I will leave it at that. A reviewer also asked when in Ash's journey this is. I've only watched enough to get an idea of the anime through Unova and some of Kalos. So let's say he meets Dick after he returns from Sinnoh and they traveled Unova together. Maybe Kalos too although it won't be referenced much or at all. The only Pokemon that goes with him when he is taken from the Pokemon World is Pikachu, because that's what I originally wrote. Hope that answers some questions! Reviewer (I think your username is Cindar?) feel free to keep the questions coming. I probably won't change much of what I've already written or posted, but will try to answer or address in the parts I have yet to write.


	4. Chapter 4

Dick sat curled up on the bed in the locked room that had become his living space, sobbing quietly. Ash was dead. The Apokoliptans had killed him despite Dick’s best efforts. One mistake too many and now he was dead. 

As much as he knew it wasn’t their fault, he blamed those superhero kids, who were probably new recruits to the Team, which brought about another question.

How long had he been gone? Three years couldn’t have made Aqualad look that old and the kid in the Robin costume seemed younger than Jason was when Dick last saw him, bringing about the conclusion that that wasn’t Jason. So who was it?

A clang sounded near the door, an indicator that someone had come to let him out. Dick sat up and rubbed at his face in an unsuccessful attempt to get rid of the tear streaks on his face.

“Well, well, well… Upset about something now, are we?” Savage taunted, taking in Dick’s appearance.

“You know what I’m upset about, you monster…” Dick murmured.

“What was that? Hurt one of your little friends that are remaining?”

“No! I’ll do what you say! Don’t hurt them!”

Savage smirked. “Good boy. Come.”

Dick slipped off the bed and padded along behind Savage as he led the way to Darkseid’s throne room on the ship.

Darkseid sneered at Dick when Savage pushed the boy onto his knees in front of him.

“Well now, boy, you seem to have shown an aversion to killing. You are a very capable asset and I know you could kill someone if you tried. You’re holding back.”

Dick kept his eyes on the ground, feeling more anxious by the second. He felt he knew where this was going. They were going to make him kill a hero. Probably Batman.

“LOOK ME IN THE EYES WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU!” The shout startled Dick into looking up at Darkseid. “That’s better. Now, we’re not asking you to kill Batman. We’re starting you out small. You’re to kill your successor, the current Robin.” Alarm filled Dick. Darkseid seemed to sense it. “You have three days to succeed. Fail, and the brown critter is gone. Take him to the arsenal.”

Two Apokoliptan guards yanked Dick to his feet and pushed and pulled him to the arsenal, where Deathstroke was waiting.

“Pick your weapons. You have five minutes. Choose wisely for they will be your only friends on this mission.”

Dick picked through the arsenal, searching for some smaller weapons that would force him to go in close. He chose a bo staff, eskrima sticks, and some explosive boomerangs.

“You’re setting yourself up for failure. Take a gun or something sharp.”

Dick sighed and found a small dagger.

“Keep looking.”

Dick fought an urge to glare at Deathstroke, finally picking up a sheathed katana.

“Good boy. Your five minutes are up. Come.”

The former Robin grabbed his chosen weapons and followed Deathstroke out of the Arsenal. The moment he was out, he was once again flanked by Apokoliptan guards. The guards accompanied him to Earth and then set him loose near Gotham City.

Dick gazed at his home city for a bit with longing. If he completed this mission, he would never be able to return. If he didn’t, Pikachu and Eva would be as good as dead.

All he had to do was cause some mayhem to get Batman and the new Robin to come running. Problem was, Batman would be with the new Robin if he did that.

He started his trudge towards Gotham while formulating plans in his head, praying he would somehow find a way to save both the new Robin and the two Pokemon.

* * *

“He’s been sighted in Gotham.” Batgirl reported. “Robin and I will handle this. Gotham is our city.”

“Not a chance! He’s too dangerous! And clearly more experienced than the both of you!” Artemis exclaimed.

“Artemis is right.” Aqualad put in. “You cannot take him on with just the two of you.”

“We were trained by Batman. This guy wasn’t. We’ll be fine.” Robin declared.

Before anything else could be said, Batgirl and Robin had pulled a disappearing act. The Zeta Tubes announced their departure seconds later.

“Artemis, let’s go after them.” Kid Flash said. “Gotham is your city too. And I’m coming with you.”

“Eevee.” Everyone froze and then turned to see the brown creature staring at them.

“Uh… Can we help you?” Kid Flash murmured.

“Eevee.” The creature tilted its head and then bounded towards the Zeta Tubes, wagging its tail when it got there.

“I guess it wants to come along?” Artemis noted.

“We don’t even know what that thing is, and now it wants to come with us on a mission?” Kid Flash groaned.

Artemis shrugged. “How much trouble could it be?”

* * *

“How much trouble could it be, you say! I’ll tell you how much trouble! We’re stuck searching for the damn thing while our teammates could be in who-knows-how-much trouble!”

“How was I supposed to know it would run off as soon as it got through the Zeta Tube?!”

Artemis and Kid Flash were walking through the streets of Gotham arguing and keeping an eye out for the brown creature that had escaped their grasp as soon as they got there.

“Robin would’ve known to put a tracker on it.”

“We should be looking for Robin. And Batgirl.”

“Not that Robin! Our Robin…”

Artemis’s eyes softened. “You still miss him…”

“And you don’t?”

“I don’t think either of us will ever get over that loss.” Artemis touched his shoulder comfortingly and then walked on.

Kid Flash sighed. “Let’s just find Batgirl and Robin, the third Robin, and then deal with the missing critter later.”

* * *

Dick was gonna regret this. He was gonna regret this so bad. He’d managed to knock out the girl who’d come with Robin and currently had Robin pinned, the dagger in his successor’s shoulder keeping him from moving.

He had just unsheathed the katana, but hesitated. Robin was looking at him, terrified, but knowing what was coming.

Dick raised the katana up, preparing to stab the boy. God, he really didn’t want to do this.

“Eevee-eev!” Dick froze. It couldn’t be. “Eevee?”

Dick turned slowly. There, standing three feet away, was Eva. She was looking at him with big eyes. She was scared.

Dick jabbed the katana into a nearby wall and scurried over to Eva, leaving Robin to pick himself up.

“ **Eva? How? The Apokoliptans..** .”

“Eevee-eev. Eevee-vee.”

“ **Where’s Pikachu?** ” At his question, Eva motioned up with her eyes.

Dick looked at the sky. “ **The Apokoliptans’ ship?** ” Eva shook her head. “ **The Watchtower?** ” Eva tilted her head. “ **Watchtower is where Batman is** .” Eva nodded. “ **So they rescued you?** ” Eva nodded again.

“Hey! I heard something this way!” Dick scooped up Eva and pulled a disappearing act, slipping into the shadows just as Kid Flash sped into the clearing with Artemis right behind him.

“Robin! Are you okay?!” Artemis ran to Robin’s side.

“Can you pull this dagger out? So I can get up?” Robin groaned. “I have a first aid kit in my belt to stitch up the wound.”

“Batgirl’s out cold.” Kid Flash noted. “Did that guy do this to you?”

“He nearly killed me.” Robin told them. “Then that brown creature showed up. Did you bring it with you?”

“It ran off the second we came through the Zeta Tube.” Artemis replied, pulling the dagger out as gently as she could. Robin hissed. “Where is it now?”

“Guy took it with him. He seemed to know it. Spoke to it in a language I didn’t know.” Robin reported. He pulled his first aid kit out of his belt, groaning as he did so.

“Let me.” Artemis offered, taking the first aid kit from Robin.

“That guy knew my every move. I tried to change it up like Batman taught me, but even then he was better than me.” Robin mentioned as Artemis stitched up the dagger wound.

“You’ve only been in the game for two years, Robin. To many, you’re still a beginner.” Artemis comforted.

“Two years is a long time.” Robin retorted.

“Not to people who’ve been out here a lot longer than you.” Kid Flash agreed with Artemis. This Robin was still a beginner. His mind wandered back again to his lost best friend. That Robin had been far from a beginner. He’d never gotten rid of the feeling that the original Robin was still out there, and that he would reappear someday, alive and well. His heart ached as he pushed that small hope even further down. Logically, he knew Robin was never coming back, but his heart still refused to believe it, and that feeling had just gotten stronger recently. Shaking his head to clear it, he helped Batgirl, who had just woken up, to her feet.

“Robin, are you okay?” Batgirl asked, noting the bandages Artemis had just wrapped around the boy’s shoulder.

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” Robin sent her a small, shaky smile.

Batgirl raised an eyebrow but let it be. “Come on. Let’s get back to the Watchtower. We’ve been in this alleyway way too long.”

They left, none noticing Dick, who was still hiding nearby with Eva. When he was sure they were gone, he moved back into the alleyway, picking up the escrima sticks and bo staff he had discarded earlier. Robin had taken the dagger with him, so only the katana was left to deal with. After staring at it for a few moments, Dick pulled it out of the wall and, in a swift motion, broke it against his knee. He then threw the pieces in different directions. Eva watched him as he did all this. He turned to her once he was done.

“C’mon Eva. Let’s go find somewhere to hide out until this all blows over.”


	5. Chapter 5

The war got worse before it got better. The Watchtower was attacked multiple times, as were various League hideaways on Earth. In the final battle, Batman was badly injured, as were multiple members of the League and Team to a lesser extent. They did win, but at a cost.

Batman was comatose. Superman was missing. The original Flash, Jay Garrick, died, as did a large number of civilians, including Artemis’s mother. Kid Flash and Artemis were both temporarily immobile. Etc. etc.

It was this situation that Ash woke up to. The League had moved him several times to keep him safe, and he was currently lying in Leslie Thompkins’ clinic, Pikachu snoozing next to his shoulder.

At first, his eyes just darted around the room, taking everything in. He had a mask over his nose and mouth, and his body felt strained. An IV was stuck in his wrist and a heart monitor was attached to his finger.

A small sound left his mouth around the time a woman came into the room to check on him.

“You’re awake.” She noticed almost immediately. “Good, you’ve been comatose for over a month, according to my colleagues.”

Ash tried to sit up, but his body was sluggish and would barely respond. Fortunately, the woman noticed and helped prop him up.

Pikachu smiled at his trainer, the relief quite obvious. “Pikapi.”

The woman removed the mask and set it to the side. “So what’s your name? We’ve been calling you the mystery boy, but it would be much better if we could call you by your real name.”

“ **What?** ” Ash didn’t understand who this woman was or what she was saying. He was on Dick’s planet now, right? That meant he should talk in the language Dick taught him. “ _ Who are you _ ?”

The woman blinked and then gasped. “You speak Romani. That’s not a very common language in this country. I can get someone here to translate though.”

“ _ Who are you _ ?” Ash repeated.

The woman pointed to herself, deciding to start with the basics, even if she didn’t understand him. “Leslie Thompkins.”

“Ash Ketchum.” Ash responded, recognizing the motion. He also recognized the name. Dick had mentioned the doctor who was always helping him and Batman during the numerous stories he’d told of his life on Earth. Ash relaxed knowing that he was with Dick’s allies now.

The woman left with some words that Ash assumed meant she’d be back.

She soon returned with an elderly man. Dick had often drawn pictures labelled ‘ally’ or ‘enemy’ with images of those friends and foes he could remember what they looked like. He had done them so Eva could tell who was a good guy and who was bad, since his plan was to bring her back with him. Speaking of which, where was the little Eevee? Hopefully, she was just with Dick so he shouldn’t worry.

Anyways, the elderly man, Ash knew, was Alfred Pennyworth, the butler that Dick had jokingly called ‘the cookie man’ once when they were coming up with alternate names for the people in the pictures for fun.

“ _ You must be Ash. Dr. Thompkins believes you speak Romani? _ ” Alfred mentioned.

“ _ Yeah. You must be the cookie man... I mean Alfred. _ ” Ash’s cheeks burned at the slip up.

Alfred looked confused. “ _ Yes. I bake cookies. But how did you know that? Dr. Thompkins never gave you my name either. _ ”

“ _ Well… that’s for me to know and you to find out hopefully sooner than later. _ ”

Alfred narrowed his eyes. He was rarely in the dark, but this boy seemed to know something he truly didn’t. Whatever it was, he was sure he’d find out eventually.

Ash averted his eyes. It seemed Alfred still didn’t know Dick was alive. Where was Dick? How come Ash was with Dick’s allies but Dick was not? He had so many questions, but kept his mouth clamped shut to avoid voicing them.

Alfred and Leslie had a conversation in a language Ash didn’t know very well. He figured it was the first language Dick had tried to teach him. What was it called again? Enish? 

“ _ Dr. Thompkins and I believe it is in your best interest if you come home with me until we can locate your family. _ ” Alfred informed Ash. _ “Do you know of any way we can contact your mother or father?” _

_ “Communications between planets?”  _ Ash shrugged.  _ “I’m not from here.” _

If Alfred was surprised, he didn’t show it. Instead, he asked Dr. Thompkins to fetch a wheelchair and both adults helped Ash into it.

The ride to the Manor took about twenty to thirty minutes. As they pulled into the grounds, Ash stared at the Manor. He’d seen a house almost this big before. In fact, Dick had compared many big houses to the size of the Manor, but it was still bigger than Ash had imagined.

“ _ It’s big.” _

Alfred helped him out of the car and brought him inside. A young boy met them there. Alfred spoke to him, probably explaining the situation. The boy nodded.

“ _ Ash, this is Tim. He will take you to where you will be staying while I prepare dinner.” _

Ash waved at Tim quietly. Where was Jason? Ash knew about Jason, but not Tim. He bit his lip so as to not voice his questions out loud.

Tim pushed the wheelchair to an elevator. He then showed Ash a guest room on another floor. As Ash wheeled himself in, Tim spoke in English. It was probably a kind statement, but Ash knew his own confusion was written all over his face.

Tim sighed and said something else before leaving Ash alone.

Once Ash was sure he was gone, he wheeled himself out of the bedroom. Pikachu, who had been sleeping in Ash’s lap since they got there, woke up as Ash searched for Dick’s room.

“Pikapi?” Pikachu yawned, stretching his little body.

“ **I’m fine, Pikachu, just seeing what I can find about how they’ve handled Dick’s disappearance. I’m also curious what happened to Jason** .”

Ash found Jason’s room first. It was messy, but clearly displayed was a picture of Jason, Dick, and Bruce. A layer of dust covered everything, but otherwise the place seemed untouched by the hands of time. Ash maneuvered the mess and picked up the picture, studying it carefully. All three males looked quite happy in the image. Dick was ruffling Jason’s hair while Bruce seemed to be sneaking up on them. Ash figured the picture was taken somewhere in the manor. Dick looked about the age he had been when Ash first met him, making Ash assume the snapshot was from shortly before Dick had run away and been grabbed by… what was his name? Lex Luthor?

“Hey!” Ash spun around as best he could in his weak state. Tim was standing in the doorway, and he didn’t look happy.

Alfred came up behind Tim after a few minutes of a glaring contest. While it was hard to read him, Ash knew he wasn’t happy either.

“ _ I would have hoped someone had taught you the rudeness of snooping around in a house in which you are a guest.” _ Alfred scolded.

“ _ Why aren’t they here _ ?” Ash glanced one more time at the picture before putting it back where he found it. “ _ Where are Jason and Dick?” _

Pain flashed across Alfred’s face almost too quickly to notice. “ _ They’re gone.” _

_ “Gone?” _

_ “Dead, and you’d do best not to mention it to anyone.” _

_ “But...” _

_ “Dinner is ready. Come.” _ Alfred left. Ash wheeled himself out of the room. Tim took the handles of his chair when he reached the hallway and roughly pushed him towards the elevator.

Ash said nothing at dinner. For one, he didn’t think Tim would understand him while Alfred seemed to be ignoring him. He also didn’t want to further provoke them while they were already angry with him.

Internally, he couldn’t help but wonder where Dick was and why he hadn’t returned to his family. Also, what had happened to Jason? Alfred believed he was dead and obviously everyone else believed it too, but how did he die? Was it similar to Dick’s supposed death, where he was kidnapped and never seen again? Or was he actually buried somewhere on the grounds?

He went to bed later on with many questions running through his head. He hoped wherever Dick was, he was safe.

* * *

”New hero appears in Bludhaven, New Jersey.” Dick turned to Eva after reading the newspaper headline out loud. “Does my butt really look like that?” He showed her the front page picture.

“Umbre!” Eva seemed to be laughing at him.

“Yeah yeah. Haha. Hilarious. They even mention it in the article. Why are they so focused on my butt?”

“Umbre-onnn.” Eva put her paw on his behind.

“Yes. It’s there. What’s your point?” She still seemed to be laughing at him. “Oh come on! It’s not that funny!”

Dick froze all of a sudden before running to grab his bo staff. “We’ve got company!”

Eva fired a shadow ball in the direction in which she’d heard the individual invading their space.

“I come in peace!” A voice shouted. “Whoa!”

Dick quirked an eyebrow and murmured, “Jay?” before speaking much louder. “Who are you?!”

“The name’s Red Hood. I’ve come to discuss an alliance.” The individual came into view. He wore a red mask and a leather bikers’ jacket. He carried guns.

“Why would I want to ally with you?” Dick inquired sharply. “I’ve heard about you. You’re a crime lord.”

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Red Hood shrugged. “But let’s cut the crap. I know that’s you, Dick. And I have questions.”

“Good. So do I. A question for a question. No lying on the answers.” Dick retorted.

“Deal.” Red Hood agreed. “I'll go first. Where have you been all this time?”

“That’s a long story. I’ll summarize the best I can. After I ran away, I was kidnapped by the Light. They, or more specifically Lex Luthor, sent me to the Apokoliptans in a space pod. At some point, I veered off course, because I woke up on a planet that wasn’t Apokolips. I spent two years there before the Apokoliptans came looking for me. That was over a year ago. Now I’m here. My turn. Why aren’t you with Batman?”

“I died. The Joker killed me. Ra’s Al Ghul brought me back using the Lazarus Pits. When I returned, Batman hadn’t avenged me. The Joker was still alive. It made me angry. Why didn’t Luthor use one of the Light’s other modes of transport? They do have that option.”

“Beats me. Maybe it hadn’t been tested on humans yet and they wanted me alive. I really don’t know. Who’s the new Robin?”

“Replacement? I think his name’s Timothy Drake. I haven’t had the pleasure of making his acquaintance quite yet. Why are you still so young? You should be twenty, not around sixteen.”

“Twenty? How long was I in that space pod? I’ve only been aware for seventeen years. I guess the space pod stunted my aging. What do you know about Bruce? Has he been coping well?”

“That’s two questions. I imagine he’s been doing fine. He seems to have managed well with Replacement. He was a wreck when you disappeared though. Kept trying to puzzle out where he went wrong and coming up with a bunch of what ifs. From what I managed to gather, he went up against Darkseid and landed himself in a coma. He’s probably awake by now, knowing him. Why have you been in hiding? And what is that?”

Dick glanced where he pointed. “Eva, meet Jason. Jason, Eva. She’s a Pokemon. A creature native to the planet I landed on. I’ve been in hiding because, when I returned to this planet, I was forced to work for the enemy. They had Eva, a friend I made on that planet, and that friend’s Pokemon. They used them as leverage. They killed my friend. I nearly killed Robin, but hesitated long enough for Eva to get to me. She had escaped.”

“I'm sure Bats was pissed you nearly killed his precious Robin.”

“I doubt he knows who did it. I was wearing gloves and didn't leave much of a trace. Do you know what the League did with Pikachu?”

“I don't know much about what the League does with their rescues, but I've heard rumors of a strange yellow critter that was seen in Leslie’s clinic alongside someone they were calling ‘the mystery boy’ who was comatose last I heard.” Dick froze for a moment when Jason mentioned the mystery boy, before grabbing a sweatshirt and heading for the door while putting on said sweatshirt. “You're going to Leslie's clinic now, aren’t you?”

“From what you just told me, Ash may be alive. I need to know. They told me they killed him. If he's alive, he's in danger.”

“Fine. I'll come with you.” Jason grumbled.

Dick whistled after putting a hood over his head. Eva trotted over and climbed onto his shoulder, settling in for the ride.

“Call her Midnight while we’re out. Eva is reserved for those in the know.” Dick called over his shoulder to Jason, who grunted and followed Dick out into the smog-filled air of Bludhaven.

* * *

Leslie Thompkins was used to unexpected visits from various Gothamites, including street kids and vigilantes. So she couldn't say she was super surprised to get a visit from Red Hood. After all, she had treated his wounds multiple times. It was the person by his side she was more surprised to see.

Before she could say anything to express her surprise at Dick’s appearance, he spoke.

“We’re looking for a yellow creature not native to this planet. His most striking feature is a lightning-bolt-shaped tail.”

“What do you want with it?” Leslie crossed her arms, refusing to take excuses.

“He’s my friend.” Dick replied, eyes falling to her feet.

At first, Leslie thought that indicated a lie, but then something rubbed against her ankle and she looked down. It was a black creature a bit like a thin fox with yellow rings on various parts of its body.

“Midnight.” Dick scolded the creature. “I told you to stay close.” The creature smiled and wagged its tail. “Come here.” The creature leapt into his arms. Dick turned back to Leslie. “As I was saying, do you have any info on Pikachu?” Dick lowered his voice. “Um… Red Hood said there was a rumor that he was here with a comatose boy. I had to come. My friend, Ash... they told me they killed him. They showed me an image of his body. He was covered in blood and… I believed them… but if there is any chance Ash is alive, I have to find him. I have to protect him. They'll try again. I know they will! I… I…” Dick’s lower lip trembled. “It's my fault he was grabbed in the first place. I need to get him home. I need to get him home alive…” A couple tears escaped his eyes. “I can't fail him again.”

Red Hood and Leslie looked on in surprise. Both found it hard to not believe him.

Leslie gulped. “Ash is alive. But you going to him now would just draw attention to him. He is safe where he is. I'll keep you updated on his condition. But while he’s still wheelchair-bound, you need to watch from a distance.”

“He doesn't know English. The only people who might be able to understand him are…” Dick trailed off. “He’s at the Manor, isn't he?”

Leslie hesitated before nodding. 

Dick’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Then he's safe. Thank goodness. Don't tell Batman, or anyone really, that we were here tonight.” He led the way out, Red Hood right behind him.

Leslie stared after them a little before returning to checking on all her other patients.


	6. Chapter 6

If Ash was expecting his meeting with Bruce when the latter woke up from his coma to go well, he was sorely disappointed. The man was not happy that the boy was in his home, even if he supposedly didn’t know who the Batman was. Ash did know he was Batman, but he hadn’t let on that he knew.

Fortunately, Alfred wouldn’t let Bruce kick Ash out, even if the boy seemed to be more trouble than he was worth.

Ash wanted to know what had happened to Jason, and why Dick hadn’t returned. But he dared not ask about the latter, figuring if Dick wanted his foster father to know he was back, he would have returned by now.

The former, though, he asked the first chance he got.

_ “What happened to Jason?” _

Bruce stiffened at the question and leveled a glare at Alfred.

“ _ Alfred wouldn’t tell me what happened. He just said he was dead and not to ask.” _

“ _ Then why are you asking?” _

_ “My question was never answered. _ ”

“ _ And it won’t be. Stop asking. _ ”

Ash frowned as Bruce walked away. “ _ I’ll trade an answer for an answer.” _

Bruce glanced back. “ _ There’s nothing you know that I don’t already. _ ”

“ _ Really? Then tell me why Dick never returned.” _

Bruce spun on him. “ _ Don’t pretend to know things nobody does.” _

_ “Fine. It’s not my story to tell anyways. _ ” Ash crossed his arms. Pikachu scurried onto his shoulder. Bruce glared at him before storming off. Ash pet Pikachu on the head. “ **Dick was right about him being stubborn, Pikachu. I thought maybe he could help me. He can’t if he won’t even consider talking about the past.”**

“Pika-chu.”

“ **I wonder where he is. Do you think he even knows I’m alive?** ”

“Pikapi…”

“ **I guess not, but I hope he’ll find out and come find me eventually.** ”

Ash could feel Tim watching him, but ignored the younger boy. He didn’t know anything about Tim anyways and he didn’t plan on Tim knowing anything about him. He stayed quiet, petting Pikachu, until he finally sensed Tim leave.

Ash sighed, but before he could say anything to Pikachu, a voice spoke.

“ _ Finally. I thought he’d never leave _ .”

Pikachu took up a defensive stance as Ash slowly turned around in the chair. A man with a red mask, leather jacket, and guns in holsters stepped out of the shadows.

“ _ Relax. I’m a friend of Dick’s. I came to check on you _ .” Ash was still tense. The man sighed and lowered his voice. “ _ My name’s Jason. Has Dick told you about me? _ ”

Ash finally relaxed. “ _ Everyone here thinks you died. I’ve been asking. No one would tell me what happened. _ ”

“ _ The Joker killed me, but Ra’s al Ghul brought me back. Don’t know what you know about him. _ ”

_ “Just that he’s an enemy. Both those people you just mentioned are enemies. _ ”

“ _ I’m aware. So Dick’s afraid of leading assassins to you if he comes here. He asked me to come and ask how you were coping.” _

_ “I’m okay. I’d rather be with Dick though. Can I come with you?” _

_ “We can’t care for you while you’re in that wheelchair. You’re safer here while you’re disabled. You probably want to be around Bruce as little as we do, but you’ll have to deal. The faster you recover, the faster we can take you from here, understand?” _

_ “Yeah. Bruce has anger issues though.” _

Jason snorted. _ “Don’t we know it.” _

Running footsteps reached their ears. Ash turned to the doorway to see Bruce and Alfred burst in. When he looked back, Jason was gone.

“ _ Was someone here? _ ” Bruce asked.  _ “The security system went down for most of the Manor.” _

_ “No. No one.” _ Ash replied, still staring at where Jason had been. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a very good liar.

“ _ Who was here?” _ Bruce demanded. “ _ Don’t lie to me. _ ”

Knowing Bruce wouldn’t believe him, Ash shrugged. “ _ Jason _ .”

Bruce slapped him. Pikachu immediately fired back with a Thunderbolt.

A grunt escaped Bruce’s mouth as he was electrocuted. He very nearly passed out.

“Master Bruce!” Alfred held back a gasp. The glare he leveled at Ash was much scarier than any Bruce could procure. “ _ Out _ .”

Ash said nothing, just started wheeling himself out of the room and towards the elevator.

Tim ran up to him and said something in English. Ash pushed him out of the way, intent on reaching the elevator.

Pikachu caught up and leaped onto Ash’s shoulder. Ash had almost reached the elevator when the sound of shattering glass reached his ears. Sounds of fighting soon followed. Then, a gunshot.

The bullet lodged in Ash’s shoulder. He screamed.

More gunshots. Tim knocked Ash out of the wheelchair and they both knelt behind it, using it as cover. Ash held Pikachu tight to keep him from slipping out and trying to fight.

The gunfire stopped. Something clattered across the floor. There was a thud and then running footsteps.

Tim blocked the individual from Ash with his body.

“What do you want?!”

“Get out of my way! He’s hurt!”

Ash didn’t understand the exchange, but he noticed when Tim hesitantly got off of him to reveal that Jason had returned.

_ “What was that?” _ Ash asked.

Jason ignored him, examining his shoulder. “He’ll need stitches. Go get the supplies.”

“I’m not leaving you with him!” Tim protested.

“Go or I’ll shoot you, Replacement!”

Tim was confused at the title, but quickly ran into another room.

By now, Alfred and Bruce had exited the room where they’d been throughout the attack.

Both noted the unconscious attacker near the window, the many bullet holes, and the man kneeling by the wheelchair.

“Red Hood!”

“What?” Jason glared at Bruce. Tim returned with the suture supplies and Jason snatched them from him, confusing Bruce.

Ash had been crying from the pain in his shoulder and yelped when Jason pulled out the bullet.

“Shh.” Jason did his best to calm him. “ _ I’m stitching you up _ .”

Pikachu watched tensely while Jason stitched up Ash’s wound, his cheeks sparking in warning. “Pika…”

Jason finished off the suture and cut the excess off. He lifted Ash into his arms when he was done.

“I’m taking him. Try to stop me and you’ll get a bullet in your forehead.” Jason threatened.

“You can’t take him!” Tim shouted. “He’s under our protection!”

“Well you’ve truly shown yourselves capable of taking care of him.” Jason’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “You won’t even let on who you truly are, despite the fact he already knows.”

“And who told him? You?” Bruce growled.

“No. My brother.” Jason revealed, but left it at that. “Come on, Pikachu.”

He left before anything else could be said, Ash in his arms and Pikachu on his shoulder.

* * *

“Leslie said to leave him at Wayne Manor.” Dick said when he saw that Jason had brought Ash back with him.

“They found him. And Bruce did a lousy job protecting him.”

“Who slapped him?”

Jason hadn’t noticed the red mark on Ash’s face, but he saw it now that Dick had pointed it out. “The only one in that house who might’ve slapped him would be Bruce.”

Dick clenched his fists, feeling the nails biting into his palms. “What right does he have to slap Ash? Ash isn’t his child.”

“You saying he has the right to slap us?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!”

“ **You’re loud.** ” Ash mumbled, blinking his eyes sleepily. He had fallen asleep on the way over, but Dick and Jason had woken him up. “ **Are we there?** ”

Jason looked at Dick for translation.

Dick smiled lightly at Ash.  **“Hey. Yeah. You’re here. Get some sleep. We’ll keep a look out for you.** ”

Ash mumbled something under his breath before falling back asleep, Pikachu snuggled in his arms.

“Umbre…” Eva wagged her tail, excited to see Ash and Pikachu again. She had been resting in the other room, but wandered out when she heard Jason’s voice.

“Do you want to search the kid for trackers? Or should I?”

“I’ll do it when he wakes up. Relax, Jay. They won’t come looking for him immediately and you change hideouts often enough anyways.”

Jason shrugged. “I’ll go looking for another hideout tomorrow. We also should probably let Leslie know what happened. She’s not going to be happy with us.”

“With you, you mean?”

“Doesn’t really matter. We’re in this together right now.”

He watched as Dick lay Ash on a couch, and covered him and Pikachu with a ratty blanket.

“Get some rest, Dick. I’ll keep an eye on the kid.”

Dick glanced at Jason, shrugged, and lay down on the floor next to the couch with another blanket. Eva weaseled her way into Dick’s arms, letting out a sound of satisfaction when she was comfortable.

* * *

“So you failed to protect the kid that we rescued, and now the Red Hood has taken him with the claim he could protect him better?” Kid Flash, recently healed, remarked, accusingly. “And you’re also telling me that you, a protege of the paranoid Batman, didn’t put a single tracker on that kid?”

Robin bit his lip and looked away guiltily.

“Be gentle, Baywatch.” Artemis warned from a nearby wheelchair.

Kid Flash glanced her way before glaring at Robin again. “You’d better hope that kid’s still alive when we find him. We might not know who the Red Hood is, but we know he’s not afraid to kill.”

“I bet they’re still in Gotham. You could run around and see if you catch a glimpse of them.” Robin suggested.

“Impulse, with me.” Kid Flash replied, obviously taking him up on that suggestion. He threw one more glare at Robin before he and Impulse sped off.


	7. Chapter 7

Impulse felt uneasy in the crime-ridden city of Gotham. As he sped through, he couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling that something was about to happen.

He skidded to a halt and then backtracked when he caught a glimpse of something yellow and familiar in a warehouse. Looking in the window, he saw the kid they were looking for, Ash, sleeping with the yellow critter in his arms. On the floor in front of him was another kid, a teenager, with a black creature that, like the yellow critter, was not from Earth in his arms.

“Stop right there.” Impulse’s view was blocked by Red Hood, his gun pointed at Impulse.

Impulse froze and then sped out of sight. He heard Red Hood cursing. “Nightwing! Wake up!”

Before he could contact Kid Flash, Kid Flash contacted him for a status report. “I found them. They’re in a warehouse on the north side of Gotham, and they’re not alone. Someone called Nightwing is with them.”

“On my way. Stay out of their sight until I get there.”

“Okay.” Before Impulse could move further from the warehouse, however, something hard slammed down on his head, knocking him out.

* * *

“Before you ask, no. I didn’t kill him.” Jason assured Dick as he re-entered the warehouse. “Got something to tie up a speedster with?”

Dick ran and got a special coil of rope and a big bag of marbles. “Stole this from the Batcave in case I ran into Wally. We can use it on him.”

“By the sound of it, kid contacted someone before I got him. Probably Flash or Kid Flash. One of the two.” Jason spread the marbles on the ground around the chair Dick was tying the speedster kid to.

“What are speedsters doing in Gotham?” Dick asked.

“Probably looking for Ash. He is supposedly under League protection.” Jason replied.

“ _ I heard my name? _ ” Ash yawned, glancing their way. “ _ Whoa. Where’d he come from? _ ”

“ _ Intruder. You have a good rest? _ ” Dick replied, finishing up the knot. Jason spread the last few marbles and stood up.

“ _ Yeah. Best rest I’ve had in the last year or so _ .” Ash replied. “ _ Should I be concerned about this intruder _ ?”

“ _ Pretty sure he’s not here to kill you, so up to you.”  _ Dick shrugged. _ “I’m going to gather our stuff. Hood will keep a lookout for others. We’ll need to move as soon as we’ve got everything _ .”

Ash nodded in understanding.

“Pretty sure I just saw a flash of yellow.” Jason warned.

As if on cue, Kid Flash slipped on the marbles around the speedster kid.

“ _ Are we gonna tie him up too? _ ” Ash inquired nonchalantly.

Kid Flash tried to get to his feet, but slipped again. It took him two more tries to get up, but Dick and Jason were ready once he did.

Wham! A knock in the head with the butt of Jason’s gun took him out for the count. Dick quickly used the remainder of the rope they had to tie up the second intruding speedster.

“He’s so much taller than I remember.” Dick murmured sadly once he was done.

“He’s a lot older than when you last saw him. 22 if I’ve got my ages straight.” Jason replied. “Go gather everything. I doubt they’re the only ones out searching for Ash.”

“Do you have a wig for him?” Dick asked as he rifled through their supplies for that which was important to take with them.

“Nah. Got a hat though. Do you have an extra mask?”

“I do. That’ll work.”

It took ten minutes to gather everything.

Kid Flash and his younger cohort were beginning to wake up as they finished.

“I’ve got the bags. You get Ash.” Dick mentioned.

“ _ Ash, get on my back. I doubt you regained your ability to walk in the last twenty-four hours _ .” Jason commanded after storing all his weapons on his person.

“H-hey! Leave him alone! If you harm one hair on his head…” Kid Flash began.

“Heh. Empty threat.” Dick snorted, interrupting. “Trust me. We have more to gain from him being alive than you do. Midnight, Pikachu, you can ride or walk. Up to you.”

Eva leaped onto Dick’s shoulder while Pikachu walked out the door next to Jason.

“Get back here!” Kid Flash shouted.

“Have fun getting out of those ropes!” Dick cheerfully called over his shoulder, kicking the door to the warehouse shut behind him.

Kid Flash scowled. “Fuck… I mean Drat!”

“Doesn’t Grandpa always say not to use curse words?”

Kid Flash groaned. “I don’t think now’s the time to be worrying about curse words. Let’s get out of here and pursue them.”

* * *

“ _ Are we there yet? _ ” Ash groaned. While he was comfortable with the hat on his head, the mask was starting to itch.

_ “Getting close. _ ” Dick replied. They passed through an alleyway near an abandoned church. “ _ Not far now. _ ”

“Where are we going, Dick? We’ve been walking for hours.” Jason asked.

“There’s an underground warehouse on the far side of Bludhaven that I used as one of my hideouts after I escaped the Apokoliptans.” Dick explained. “It should still have supplies. And some hidden tech we can use for security.”

“You sure no one’s found that place?”

“No. But it’s my best hidden. If that place has been found, I can’t think of anywhere to go that hasn’t been found.”

“Gotcha.”

They trudged in silence for a few more minutes before they came to a row of abandoned buildings. Dick led the way around to a hidden yard in the back. A shed stood in the shadows, barely visible.

“We’re here.” Dick stated. He dropped the bags of supplies he’d carried and rolled his shoulders to bring some feeling back into them.

“A shed?” Jason wasn’t impressed. Dick just picked up the supplies again and went into said shed.

Jason begrudgingly followed. Inside, Dick moved some tools out of the way to reveal a trap door, the entrance to a tunnel.

“ _ We’re going underground? _ ” Ash piped up.

Dick nodded. “I’d go first, but I have to close it behind us. Switch loads?”

Jason shrugged. He had to admit the tunnel leading underground was slightly more impressive than just a plain old shed. He placed Ash on the ground and took the supplies Dick handed him before heading into the tunnel.

Dick helped Ash into the tunnel and then moved the tools to cover the entrance again and locked the trap door behind them. In the pitchblack tunnel, he lit a lamp. Once Ash was secure on Dick’s back, they set off again, Jason taking the lead.

They continued down the tunnel for a while. There were many forks and different directions to go, so Jason was not surprised to hear Dick call directions to him now and then.

When they finally reached the warehouse, it was clear they were deep underground.

“There’s another exit from this warehouse. If someone finds us, we can lose them in the tunnels.” Dick informed Jason.

“I didn’t know there was such an intense tunnel system so close to Bludhaven.” Jason replied.

“Most people don’t know about the tunnel system so close to Gotham either. I was lucky to discover this system while I was on the run.” Dick placed the lamp in the middle of the room and set Ash down against the wall.

“ _ This place is cool. _ ” Ash stated.

“ _ Glad you think so. _ ” Dick smiled at him.

Pikachu and Eva sat down on either side of Ash, seemingly keeping guard.

“ _ Can I take this mask off now? _ ”

“ _ Yes. It’s safe. _ ”

Ash took the mask off and allowed his eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness. “ _ When can I start therapy to use my legs again?” _

“ _ Soon. You’re still weak.” _

_ “Dick…” _

_ “Yes?” _

_ “How much longer do you think it will take you to find a way to get me home?” _

Dick felt his heart clench. “ _ I don’t know, Ash. Right now, our priority is keeping you alive. But I promise, I’ll find a way to get you home eventually. _ ”

Ash lowered his head. He had anticipated that answer. Not that the League had been doing much in an attempt to get him home either.

“Pikapi…” Pikachu placed a paw on Ash’s knee in an attempt to comfort him. Ash drew the Pokemon into his arms and started petting him while Dick and Jason went about setting up the fort.

“ **I want to go home, Pikachu.” ** Ash murmured.  **“I think I would be safer there. It would take those criminals a long time to search a whole planet they know nothing about in an attempt to kill me. They probably wouldn’t think it worth their time.”**

Dick glanced his way, but left him alone for the most part. There was a distinct possibility that Ash wouldn’t be safe on his own planet even, but Dick didn’t want to be the one to voice that.

When they were done setting up, Jason yawned. “Okay. Who’s keeping watch? You or me?”

“Me.” Dick responded. “You kept watch last time and I got some shut eye. It’s your turn to rest a little.”

“Aye aye, younger brother.” Jason saluted, enjoying the glare he got from Dick at the title.

“I am not your younger brother.”

“Maybe not chronologically, but you are biologically younger right now.” Jason smirked.

“Go get some sleep, Jay. Your brain isn’t working right.” Dick grumbled.

“Ha! You’re just jealous you aren’t the eldest anymore!”

“Shut up, Jay!”

_ “What are you guys arguing about? _ ” Ash had taken notice of their conversation.

“ _ Age. _ ” Dick replied. “ _ It’s not really important. I’m taking first watch. _ ” He walked away to a part of the warehouse where he could see both entrances. Eva scurried after him, probably hoping to gain his attention or keep him company.

It would be a long night.

* * *

“When do you think someone will find us?” Impulse yawned.

As if on cue, Batman entered the warehouse. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the two speedsters, narrowing them even further than thought possible when he noticed the ropes keeping them bound.

“What are you doing here and who tied you up?”

“We were looking for that kid, Ash. Red Hood and his ally tied us up.” Kid Flash replied. “We’ve been trying to get out of these ropes for hours. They’re speedster-proof.”

Batman untied the ropes. “Get out of my city. I can handle Red Hood and whoever is with him on my own.”

Kid Flash narrowed his eyes, but motioned to Impulse to follow him. They sped away.

Batman looked at the ropes. “How did Red Hood get into the Batcave?”


	8. Chapter 8

Over the next few days and weeks, Dick, Jason, Ash, and the two pokemon got into a routine. Wake up, get ready for the day, Dick helps Ash with physical therapy while Jason makes breakfast, eat breakfast, flip a coin on who leaves the warehouse, Dick or Jason goes to get supplies and/or see Leslie for instructions on how best to care for Ash, more physical therapy for those who stay behind, lunch, sparring between Dick and Jason while Ash, Eva, and Pikachu bet on who will win the most matches, dinner, patrol for either Jason or Dick and Eva, keep watch for whoever stays back, return from patrol and switch guards, sleep, repeat.

The routine was working pretty well, but there was the constant worry of someone finding them. Batman had been an almost consistent threat for whoever went on patrol, whether the hero Nightwing and his partner Midnight, or the anti-hero Red Hood. It was getting harder and harder to evade him.

Twice a week, Dick or Jason would take Ash and Pikachu out for some sun. They had to be extra careful during these instances, but it was better than the two getting no sunlight for months on end.

Two months after arriving at the warehouse, Dick came back from patrol with a serious look on his face. He motioned to Jason and the two moved to the other side of the warehouse from Ash, so that he couldn’t hear them.

Dick opened his fist to reveal a flash drive. “I snuck to Metropolis and snagged the flight path my pod took from Luthor’s office. It’s the same info Luthor and the Apokoliptans used to find which planet I landed on. We can use it to get Ash home.”

“That’s great. What’s the catch?” Jason knew there was a catch; Dick wouldn’t be acting so serious if there wasn’t one.

“Luthor’s stationed several of his men on Ash’s planet. I saw the stats. He’s keeping in contact with at least thirty of them across the globe. If we try to take Ash home…”

“They’ll know immediately and snatch him right back up. They might even kill him. That’s a big problem. What are we going to tell Ash?”

“Nothing right now. He wants to go home really badly. He won’t see the danger in it like we do.”

“What can we do to solve this problem?”

Dick was silent a few moments, thinking it over carefully. “We need to get those men off Ash’s planet. At the very least, we need to cut off contact between them and Luthor. Ash’s planet has a group called Champions who are basically the top individuals in each region. They run everything. If we can manage some form of contact with them, any of them, they might be able to find these men for us and consolidate them or maybe even try to send them home. It will be difficult though. We might have to team up with the Justice League.”

Jason wrinkled his nose. “Team up with the Justice League? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“We’ll try on our own first. But we might have to. At the very least, we might need to contact the Green Lanterns to apprehend Luthor’s guys.”

“Again, what do we tell Ash? He’ll notice if we’re working on something.”

“We’ll tell him the truth, or at least part of it. We’re working on getting him home.”

* * *

Ash didn’t like being kept in the dark. However, Dick and Jason seemed to be of a different mind in his regard.

They insisted they were working on getting him home when they went over to the other side of the underground warehouse to talk where he couldn’t hear them, but Ash knew they’d hit an obstacle in their quest. Something was keeping them from taking him home, and he wanted to know what.

Unfortunately, neither Dick nor Jason would budge in their secrecy. Ash couldn’t get a peep out of them beyond the fact they were trying to get him home.

It was frustrating, but Ash was determined to find out what they were up to eventually. In the meantime, maybe secret English language practice would help...

* * *

Dick was at his wit’s end. All his efforts to get word to the champions of the Pokemon World to gather the men after Ash had been for naught. The champions didn’t believe him. They wouldn’t listen. They wouldn’t gather the men. They wouldn’t even look for them. They seemed to think that Dick’s message was in fact a trick to gain more intel and ways to attack the Pokemon World.

As much as Dick hated it, he was at a loss for what to do next.

Well, not a complete loss, he realized as he snuck towards the closest Zeta Tube. Jason was gonna kill him for this.

* * *

“Recognized: Robin B01. Brown Creature C04.” Those nearest the Zeta Tubes in the Watchtower went silent when they heard the designations.

Everyone turned to stare at Dick and Eva, the former of whom was dressed in civvies and a set of dark sunglasses and the latter of whom was nestled on the former’s shoulder.

When nobody spoke, Dick made the first move. “Is someone gonna investigate the Zeta Tubes or should I just stand here?”

The words sent the heroes into a flurry of action, restraining Dick and moving him to an interrogation room.

Dick struggled not to sigh as Green Arrow began to question him, having known the whole good cop bad cop thing was coming. He wondered where Superman was. Usually they’d get him to do this.

He said nothing to Green Arrow’s questions for a while, enjoying watching the hero getting increasingly frustrated. 

After about twenty minutes or so, he yawned and asked, “You going to send Batman in or am I stuck talking to you?”

Green Arrow seemed flustered by the response, but exited the room grumbling.

Dick fidgeted slightly as Batman entered the room, avoiding the older hero’s eyes, or rather, avoiding the white slits on the man’s mask that seemed to stare into his soul.

Batman stared at the boy for a bit. Neither said anything for a good half hour.

“Why did the Zeta Tube say ‘Robin B-01’ when you came up here?” There it was. The first question.

Dick shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess someone set it to do that.” That was only half a lie. Someone had set it to do that and Dick didn’t know exactly how it worked, but he was omitting who had set it to do that.

“By someone, you mean you.”

“Nah. I didn’t touch the designation. Didn’t have to.”

“Are you a clone?”

“Not to my knowledge.” Batman turned slightly as if to leave. “Don’t even think about sending a Martian to check!”

Batman turned back to him. “Why are you here?”

Finally, a question he could answer truthfully. “I need help getting Ash home.” When Batman didn’t say anything, he added more. “There are people that the Light have stationed on Ash’s planet to kidnap or kill him should he try to return. I don’t want him to get hurt. I need help getting them where they can’t harm Ash.”

“What makes you think the Justice League can help you?”

“I trusted you once.” Dick finally looked him in the eyes/white slits. “I’m daring to trust you again.”

“Who are you?” Batman demanded.

“Honestly, Bats, they say you’re the world’s greatest detective and you still haven’t figured out who me and Hood are?”

Batman ignored the jab. “Why do you care so much about Ash?”

Dick took a moment to think about how to respond. He decided the truth would be best. “His mother took me in during my time of need. He’s like a brother to me. I would never forgive myself if he died under my watch. Especially if it was because I cared about him.” A pause. “It almost happened once, but the League saved his life. I’m very grateful for that. I’m not going to let it come anywhere close to happening again.”

A silence filled the space as Batman thought up his next question.

Dick was the one to break it. “They’re probably wondering where I am by now. If you’re not going to help, I should probably go.”

Batman narrowed his eyes. “You broke into the Justice League’s headquarters and you think we’re just going to let you go without a fight?”

Dick whistled. “Nah. But it’s a nice thought.”

There was a thud and the door shook. Another thud and the lock broke, allowing the door to slide open. Dick had long since broken out of his cuffs, so he casually stood up, catching the little Umbreon that flung herself at him.

“Later, Bats.” He cartwheeled away when Batman lunged at him and quickly fought his way to the Zetas.

He may have accidentally let out a rather recognizable cackle as the tubes transported him and Eva back to Gotham.

He took one step out of the Zeta Tube just to come face to face with Red Hood.

“Uhhh… Busted?”

“Busted.”

“Breon.”


	9. Chapter 9

“I can’t believe you went to the Justice League about this!”

“We were getting nowhere! Ash wants to go home! We can all see it!”

“The messages to the Champions?”

“They didn’t believe me!”

“Get Ash to write something!”

“And let him know why he’s not yet home?! If he tries to bypass us, he’ll be killed, Hood! Not everyone has the mysterious power to come back from the dead after being murdered!”

“I’ll bet the League didn’t even agree to help you anyways! If the twelve trackers I found on you are any indication!”

“It’s a step in the right direction if they’re aware of the problem!”

“They are more interested in helping rebuild after the damn war with Apokolips than in helping a single kid get home without being killed!”

Dick couldn’t think of a proper response for that one. His shoulders slumped in defeat. “You aren’t like me or Ash. You don’t spend days at a time agonizing over the fact you can’t go home. For you, it’s a choice. For us, it’s all we really want.”

They continued trudging towards their home base in an uncomfortable silence. Eva rubbed her head against Dick’s cheek in an attempt to comfort him.

Back at the underground warehouse, they found Ash snoozing against a wall, dagger in his hand and Pikachu by his side. The youngest ravenet had apparently fallen asleep while attempting to keep guard. Pikachu was still awake beside him, although he appeared slightly drowsy himself.

“Pikapi.” Pikachu chirped, nudging Ash’s arm with his head.

Ash startled awake and lifted the dagger reflexively. He relaxed when he saw who it was.

“ _ You found him? _ ”

“ _ Yeah. I did. He was fine. Probably lost track of time is all _ .”

Ash gave him a disbelieving look. “ _ I know you’re hiding something from me. I’m as much a part of this as you are now. Tell me. _ ”

“ _ Ash… _ .”

“ _ Tell me. Please. _ ”

“Dick, no.” Jason scowled at the look on Dick’s face. “You were just arguing against it yourself.”

“ _ Promise me you won’t go out and get yourself killed if I tell you? _ ”

“ _ Promise. _ ”

Dick sank to the ground next to Ash. “ _ We discovered the location of your home planet. But the bad guys found it first and are prepared to attack you if you go back there. Besides the fact we don’t have our own spaceship, we also have the issue of the champions not believing us about the bad guys’ plans and not taking any actions yet to protect you. We’ve been trying to find a workaround, but we’re still not sure about… _ ”

“ _ Teach me to fight. _ ”

Dick startled. “ _ What? _ ”

“ _ That’s a workaround, isn’t it? Teach me to fight. Prepare me to face them. Leslie cleared me for physical activity a few hours ago. From your arguing, I figure Jason hasn’t told you that yet. _ ”

Dick swiveled to face Jason, who shrugged. “ _ I was getting to it _ .”

A grimace crossed Dick’s face, soon to be replaced by determination. “ _ Okay. We will still search for a way to get you home without facing the bad guys, but you’re right. You learning to fight is a workaround. We factor Pikachu into the drills, and you can watch each other’s backs like me and Eva. Jay, change in patrol plans tonight. I’ll stay in and start basic training with Ash. I’m willing to teach him, but can you as well? I’m not forcing you to do anything, but you have your own style and… _ ”

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this _ . _ ” Jason grumbled. “ _ You do most of the training. I’ll work with him two days a week. Put that into your training schedule. Tonight works fine. There’s a shipment that needs my interference anyways. _ ” He pointed a finger at Ash. “ _ Don’t get yourself killed, kid. It’s not fun. Also, if you’re feeling over-exerted say something, got it? _ ”

Ash beamed. “ _ Got it. _ ”

“ _ I’m headed out early. See you two when I get back _ .” He flicked a goodbye with his fingers as he turned and headed back out.

Dick smiled at Ash. “ _ We’ll start with positioning. This is a basic defense stance. _ ”

* * *

Batman stood a silent watch over the dock where the shipment he’d heard about was meant to take place. He brewed over what Nightwing had said. That cackle… But no. It couldn’t be. He must have hacked the Zeta Tube to do that and the cackle, unmistakable as it seemed, was probably a recording.

His eyes narrowed when he saw movement on a rooftop opposite him. Pulling out his binoculars, he saw Red Hood moving into position while checking his stores to ensure he had everything. The man, or possibly teen, stiffened and looked straight at Batman.

After a moment, he leaped over the ledge of rooftop, straight into action. The buyer had appeared while Batman was watching Red Hood.

Batman jumped into the fray as well. Robin was on a mission with the team at the moment, so it was nice that, whoever Red Hood was, he didn’t want Batman dead and preferred to secretly watch his back during the fight.

Of course, he was gone moments before Batman finished off the last goon.

Batman radioed the police and then took off after the anti-hero, who hadn’t gotten far. Especially considering Batman had bugged him during the fight.

Sure enough, he reached Red Hood’s location just as the man/teen was cursing and destroying the tracker.

“Red Hood.” Red Hood spun around at the sound of his title and glared at Batman.

“Whatcha want, Bats? Here to drag me off to jail?”

“I want to know Nightwing’s true identity.”

“You’re not getting it from…” A stun dart silenced the man/teen momentarily. Then, he let out a soft curse as he fell unconscious. “Fuck.”


	10. Chapter 10

Dick paced back and forth in their base. Jason should’ve been back to take over watch an hour ago.

“He’s just late.” He whispered to himself. He glanced at where Ash, Pikachu, and Eva were sleeping soundly, exhausted from their training session. While he’d been teaching Ash, Eva had taught Pikachu. Partner maneuvers would come later, and Ash wasn’t the fastest learner physically, but they’d gotten pretty far for a first session.

Dick rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn. “Don’t fall asleep. No one to raise the alarm if you fall asleep. Even with the activated traps.”

He leaned against the wall, fighting his own drowsiness.

An alert startled both him and his companions back to full awareness.

Dick stumbled over to the computers.

Ash yawned largely. “ _ Probably Jason _ .”

Dick studied the computer a moment before running to their built arsenal.

He shoved a loaded gun in Ash’s hands. “ _ Rubber bullets. Can hurt but won’t kill. Shoot at anyone unless it’s me, Jason, or one of the pokemon _ .”

He ran back to the arsenal and started reloading his belt. He grabbed a couple refills of ammo for Ash and shoved them into the other boy’s pockets as well.

“ _ Who is it? _ ” Ash whispered.

“_I don’t know_.” Dick replied truthfully. “_Not League or Team, and not other friends I know of. Doesn’t look like typical Apokoliptans, but can’t be sure. Have to be on high alert._ _Pikachu, watch Ash’s back. Midnight, watch mine. We’re going to…_” He trailed off when another alert sounded. “Shit. _They’re coming in both entrances_.”

“ _ What do we do? _ ”

“ _ If you weren’t here, I’d try to fight. Right now, might be a better choice to hide _ . _ The arsenal. Quickly. I’ll barricade it. _ ”

He ran to the computer and quickly coded and sent a message. “If Bats has you, Jay. You’ll get this. In the case he doesn’t, he’ll get this. Either way, send help.”

He barricaded himself and Ash in the arsenal and prayed they wouldn’t cover or break the thin air vent leading up to the shed.

* * *

“But Master Bruce… how?”

“I don’t know. I hate to say it, but I have no clue how he’s alive. Or how he’s stayed under my radar for so long.”

Jason nearly shot upright at the sound of Alfred and Bruce’s voices. He was stopped by rattling chains. Fuck.

He scowled, realizing he could’ve played unconscious and gotten more information, but now Bruce and Alfred knew he was awake.

“Jason.”

Okay. And Bruce had unmasked him. Double Fuck.

Wait. Dick and Ash had no idea he’d been captured. Plus, he didn’t know how long he’d been out. What if Dick had fallen asleep? He’d had a long day, but no one would be able to keep guard if neither of them stayed up, and Jason hadn’t returned. Quadruple Fuck. Quintuple Fuck. A thousand curses. He had to get back to them.

“Jason, why didn’t you come home?” Right. Bruce. 

He had a beef with Bruce. Something about the Joker? Oh yeah. That bastard was still alive. Bruce didn’t care Jason had been murdered. Big deal as that was, Dick and Ash might need him right now, so…

“Let me go.”

“It is rather charming to chain up your son as a welcome home present.” Alfred drawled sarcastically.

Bruce ignored them both. “Why didn’t you come home?”

Jason scowled. “I might not blame you for letting me die, but why’s the Joker still alive?! He killed me! Do you not care about that?!” 

Step One: Distract Stupid Bruce with the actual reason he didn’t come home at first. 

Step Two: Break the damn chains. 

Step Three: Get past the idiot so he could go check on his brothers, who were the reason this fucking confrontation hadn’t happened months ago.

Bruce looked taken aback, but composed himself quickly. “Killing him wouldn’t have brought you back.”

“And you replaced me! What kind of sick bastard replaces their own son?!”

Almost got the chains.

“I didn’t replace you, Jason.”

“Bullshit. Tell me why there’s another kid in the Robin suit then!”

“Tim is not… Where do you think you’re going?”

“Away from here.” Jason hissed.

“Jason, you don’t have to run. There will always be a home for you here.”

Jason paused a moment, but only a moment. “Whatever.” Before he could go any farther, Replacement padded in.

“Uh… Sorry to interrupt, but there’s a distress call using Batcodes coming from Bludhaven.”

Infinity beyond Fuck! How long had he been gone that Dick already needed help holding down base? Had the Light and the Apokoliptans just been waiting for them to let their guard down the tiniest bit in order to strike?!

Batman was distracted by the distress code. Alfred was saying something, but Jason didn’t catch what before he was peeling out of the Batcave on a borrowed motorcycle.

Those two better still be alive when he got there or the bad guys wouldn’t be the only ones with bullets in their heads.


	11. Chapter 11

Delia Ketchum was not one to give up hope easily. That was why she refused to believe the men who claimed Dick had murdered Ash and left him to bleed out in an unknown location.

The image they’d shown her had Ash bleeding out alright, but it did not have Dick anywhere nearby. Any attempts to edit the other boy into the picture were just that. Attempts.

Wherever her boys were, they were working their darn hardest to keep each other alive. She believed that with all her heart.

She didn’t let the lack of contact bother her. If they were on another planet, they might not have the means.

She didn’t let the lack of sightings from anyone other than the men, who admittedly had scary vibes, scare her. If they were on another planet, who would have seen them?

She didn’t let the rumors flying around Pallet Town, the insistence she was in denial, the crude insults about the faith she was putting in an alien boy, any of that sway her. Dick would protect Ash the only way he knew how. If that meant keeping her out of the loop, at least her faith that they were both alive and well could keep her going.

Now if only the police would stop trying to wring any information she had about Dick out of her. Good thing she knew names were classified and pictures even more so. She’d burned his drawings of his friends and family after the police had come the first time.

The fact the men with scary vibes had taken a group of Ash’s friends and left Pallet a few days ago didn’t comfort her at all.

A knock on her door. She groaned. It was probably the police again.

But, when she opened the door, she found the champion Cynthia on her doorstep.

The neighbors were watching, she noticed. Probably expecting she was receiving news of the discovery of Ash’s body. She scowled at them before fixing the champion with a weary smile.

“ **Hello. Cynthia, right? It’s an honor to meet you. Please come in** .” Cynthia entered, her Garchomp right behind her.

“ **Hello, Mrs. Ketchum. I have a few questions. Then, I hope I have some answers for you** .”

Delia nodded. “ **Of course. Would you like some tea?** ”

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. “ **Sure. But, if I may ask, why are you so calm right now?** ”

Delia grit her teeth, but Cynthia spoke again before she could answer.

“ **Forgive me. I heard some of the rumors flying around town last night when I arrived. I didn’t stop to think of how they may be affecting you though** .”

It was phrased to sound as if Cynthia meant no ill intent, but Delia couldn’t be sure. She took a deep breath.

“ **If I may ask, why are you here? The police have already given their opinion and tried to squeeze information out of me numerous times** .”

“ **I’m terribly sorry about that, ma’am. I am of a… different opinion, however. Tell me, did that boy… the one everyone’s calling an alien boy… did he have a creepy laugh** ?”

The tea cup in Delia’s hands fell to the ground and shattered.

“ **He did, didn’t he? It was him** .” Cynthia pulled Delia away from the broken shards while Mimey came by with a broom and dustpan. “ **He and Ash were the ones who rescued the champions from the aliens. I wasn’t completely sure** .”

“ **He… he and Ash...?** ”

“ **Please sit down. And don’t bother yourself with preparing anything else. I think talking is all we need right now** .” Cynthia led Delia to the table and pushed her gently into a chair. “ **Two days ago, the champions’ office received this message. I believe it’s from him. Is his name Dick?** ”

Delia nodded. She looked at the letter, written in their language and riddled with spelling mistakes.

**“To the Champions of the Pokemon World,**

**I am an ally in need of a favor that would be of mutual benefit to both of us. An enemy of mine has stationed his men on your planet with the intent of killing my little brother, or my friend I think of as a little brother, should he try to return there. Ash is from your planet and he wants to come home badly. I am afraid said men would kill him if we were to try to return him this instant. (We also don’t currently have access to space travel machinery). I believe these men also mean harm to your people should they succeed. I ask you to please find and arrest them so that I may return Ash home to his mother safely. I hope this is not too much to ask of you.**

**Sincerely,**

**Dick”**

Delia felt like crying. “ **I knew it. I was right. They’re working to protect each other. And Ash isn’t dead. When did you get this** ?”

“ **Less than a week ago. Steven wrote a strongly-worded message back before I could stop him or insist he bring it up to the rest of the champions. I set off to bring it to your attention. See what you might make of it.** ” Cynthia swallowed. “ **You are the only adult with a lot of experience and knowledge concerning the author of this letter. I would like it if you could come with me to discuss this with myself and my fellow champions. We must figure out a course of action that works in everyone’s favor.** ”

“ **If it will help Dick and Ash, anything you need from me.** ”

Cynthia smiled softly. “ **How long would it take you to pack a bag and alert a trusted neighbor to your leave?** ”

“ **About half an hour for the bag. About a ten minute trek over to talk to Tracey, Professor Oak’s assistant, after. Then we can go.** ”

**“Okay. I’ll meet you at Professor Oak’s. I would like to have a word with the professor as well.”**

* * *

Dick was viewing footage of the gathering individuals in the warehouse on a tablet. Ash winced as a thud indicated they were trying to get in to the arsenal. He crawled over to Dick and glanced at the tablet.

“ _ Wait. I know those two _ .” He pointed to a redhead and a blunette. “ _ That’s Misty and Dawn. They’re my friends. _ ” He flinched when their barricade shook again.

“ _ They look angry. _ ” Dick had his thinking face on. “ _ And I know for a fact some of these people are Luthor’s men. I’ll bet your friends have been tricked. Probably think you’re dead. _ ”

“ _ Let’s prove I’m not _ .” Ash went for the barricade and Dick shoved him back.

The older teen looked at the younger appraisingly. “ _ No. It’s not safe. _ ”

“ _ Nothing’s safe. _ ”

“ _ I’m really sorry about this, Ash _ .” 

Ash was about to ask what that meant when Dick stabbed him in a vein with a needle.

“ _ Wha… did you… _ ?” Ash slumped.

“Pikapi?” Pikachu nudged Ash gently.

“Breon!” Eva scolded Dick with a hiss.

“Yeah yeah. Help me hide him so they don’t see him. I want you both to protect him with your lives.”

When the barricade was broken down minutes later, Dick was the only one in sight, and thus the only one taken.


	12. Chapter 12

Jason raced through the tunnels as fast as his legs would carry him.

Finally, he burst into the underground warehouse.

Gone. Signs of a fight, but no people (or creatures) anywhere.

“Fuck!” He cursed loudly.

“Umbre!” A faint voice called. He was startled to realize it was Eva, still here.

He looked around. The arsenal. Remnants of a broken down barricade were crystal clear.

Quick as a wink, he was climbing over the rubble of the doorframe and entering the arsenal.

Eva wagged her tail when she saw him. “Um!”

He noticed she was guarding a pile of weapons. No. Someone hidden behind the pile of weapons.

“Ash!” Pikachu sparked a warning as Jason approached. Then, the pokemon recognized him and calmed a little, turning to nudge Ash.

Jason shook the boy gently, but Ash didn’t respond. A quick check of his pulse proved he was still alive and breathing.

Eva dropped a needle at his feet to show him what had happened.

Jason narrowed his eyes and examined the needle. Who had sedated Ash and…?

Oh fuck no. Dick better not have. He had no confirmation Jason would be the one to find Ash if he had.

A look around proved his intuition right, however. 

Dick had given himself up to keep the attackers from finding and hurting Ash.

“I am going to kill him.” Jason scowled. “What do we do now?”

“Jason?” Jason whipped around to find Batman and Replacement at the entrance to the arsenal.

Eva and Pikachu growled at them.

“What happened here?” Replacement asked.

“That idiot Nightwing gave himself up so whoever was attacking them wouldn’t find Ash.” Jason spat. “Seems the damn idea worked, but I’m still going to kill that imbecile. He had no guarantee I’d be the next one to get here.”

Batman knelt next to him to check Ash’s condition.

“This place is compromised. You’ll return to the Batcave with us.” He announced, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Jason argued anyways. “Fuck no. I don’t trust you with his safety.”

“Where else will you go?” Replacement pointed out. “Your base is compromised. And I can tell it was probably your best hidden. At least the Batcave is highly secured with League technology.”

Jason grit his teeth, but was unable to deny the reasoning.

Ash mumbled something under his breath and began to stir. The sedative apparently wasn’t a long-lasting one and was already beginning to wear off.

Batman lifted Ash into his arms. Pikachu growled in warning, but Jason lifted a hand to indicate it was okay.

“Fine. We’ll go with you. But I’m telling you right now there will be at least a dozen rules in place on interactions by the time we get there.”

Batman grunted and started out of the warehouse.

Jason, Pikachu, Eva, and Replacement followed.


	13. Chapter 13

The surface he was laying on was soft and fluffy. He could make out voices not far away, arguing. What happened? He didn’t remember dozing off. In fact, last he remembered, they’d been under…

Ash shot up with a gasp and scrambled for purchase on the soft sheets underneath him. He was in the room he’d previously been staying in at Wayne Manor before Jason got him out. That didn’t make sense though. How had he gotten here? Where was Dick? Where was Jason? Where were Pikachu and Eva?

“Pikapi?” Okay so the Pokemon were at the foot of the bed. That was a relief. Maybe they’d been saved? But how had they ended up at Wayne Manor?

“_ You’re awake _ .” Jason entered the room. He wasn’t wearing a mask and seemed irritated. “ _ Do you remember anything? _”

“_ Where’s Dick? We were under attack. We barricaded ourselves in the Arsenal and then… something. I don’t remember _.”

“_ Right now, the running theory is he hid you and gave himself up so that they wouldn’t find or hurt you. _”

“_ They wouldn’t have… _ ” Ash paused, remembering what Dick had said about his friends being tricked. Some of those men had been Luthor’s men. “ _ Where’s Dick _?”

“_ It’s hard to say without knowing who was attacking you. He was gone by the time I got there though. _”

“_ He left me behind? Alone? _”

“_ Pikachu and Eva were guarding you. I believe he was taken against his will. Or as against his will as possible considering he gave himself up to protect you. _”

“_ I don’t understand. _” And he didn’t. Surely he wasn’t in any actual danger if his friends were there. Why hide him? Why play whatever game Luthor’s men were playing? Had Dick seen something in the situation he hadn’t?

“_ Don’t worry. We’ll find him. And then I’ll give the jerk an ass-whooping for leaving you behind. _”

* * *

Dick grumbled as he was shoved to the ground, a blindfold was wrapped around his eyes and his wrists were tied behind his back. He knew enough to know that he was no longer on Earth. Pretty sure they’d used some sort of boomtube portal to get to what was probably Pallet Town.

“**What is the meaning of this?**” He didn’t know the voice. It sounded male. Wait. Maybe he did know the voice? One of Ash’s friends, maybe?

“**We found the guy that killed Ash.**” Another female. Younger.

“**For Arceus’s sake, you don’t know for certain he killed Ash!**” Okay. That one he recognized. Iris. He’d met her in Unova when travelling with Ash. Nice to know someone had faith in him.

**“Then explain the picture, Iris.”** That confused Dick. What picture were they…?

Oh. Oh, that explained a lot. That picture had been convincing enough that for a while even Dick had believed Ash dead. Figures they’d use it to convince Ash’s friends.

“**It’s fake. They probably edited it to make him look dead. We don’t know that he’s actually dead!**” Oh Iris. Dick didn’t know how she would’ve handled it if she’d actually been there.

“**We told you kids everything we know.** ” Now that was definitely one of Luthor’s men. One who’d been involved in his abduction so many years before, in fact. “ **This villain stabbed your friend to death and left him to bleed out. No amount of medical care could’ve saved him. And believe me, we tried.**”

Dick wanted to scream at the lies flowing from the man’s mouth, but he didn’t want to act prematurely. So, instead, he pursed his lips and tried to think of a plan to use this to his advantage.

He’d been right that Ash’s friends didn’t know he was alive. The real question was, did Luthor’s men know of Ash’s survival? Surely they did, or they wouldn’t be here causing disruptions.

“**I find it hard to believe Dick didn’t try to protect Ash to the best of his ability.** ” Cilan was here too? How many people were involved in this crap? “ **They had a brotherly relationship. Even if Ash really is dead, which I doubt, then I know Dick wasn’t the one to kill him.**”

“**You clearly know very little about this criminal. He always stakes out his victims for years before making the killing blow. Always kids with lots of friends as well. Makes sense he’d target a kid as well-known on this planet as Ash.**”

“**I was never on this planet on purpose.**” Dick didn’t even realize he intended to speak until the words were already out of his mouth.

“**It speaks**.” The female he didn’t know snorted with disgust.

“**My preferred pronouns are he/him** .” That comment earned him a kick in the side. **“And Cilan is right. I did everything in my power to protect Ash**.”

“**You call killing him protecting him?”** Was he surrounded by a crowd? How many people were here?

“**I didn’t kill him. I’d rather kill myself than allow him to be harmed in any way.**”

“**You liar!”**

The crowd started chanting. “**Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!**”

Dick admittedly was startled by the chant. He quickly got to work on the ropes keeping him bound.

“**Whoa whoa whoa! Don’t kill him! He could be telling the truth!”**

**“Oof!” **

**“Hey! Let us go!”**

Dick got the ropes undone and ripped off the blindfold just as blows began to rain down on him. Even the Pokemon were attacking him. If the biting and energy-like attacks were anything to go by.

He knew he’d likely be killed if he stayed, so he quickly swung into a tree and surveyed the situation, taking note of where Iris, Cilan, and [that was definitely] Brock were being held back from helping him. A flamethrower attack nicked his arm and blew through the branch supporting him, causing him to fall and break his other arm.

He didn’t think he could get to the individuals supporting him, but he tried anyways. Everyone was teaming up on him. To think so many people were gullible enough to think he had killed his little brother figure. How could they believe such a thing?

Well, it seemed Luther’s men had control of this place now. He’d better get away and regroup while he still could.

A Pokemon slid up next to him. Dick believed it was an Onix? No, bigger than an Onix. He couldn’t remember the name. So many damn Pokemon and evolutions and stuff.

“**Get on!**” Brock. Brock had a Steelix. Okay. That was the name. Steelix.

He grabbed Brock’s outstretched hand with the hand attached to his unbroken arm and Brock swung him onto Steelix’s back.

They made their escape. Iris and Cilan were on Steelix’s back too. Cilan kept Dick steady while Iris dabbed some herbal mixtures on Dick’s injuries.

To think it had only been a few hours since he’d been training Ash to fight. He hoped Jason or Bruce had found Ash by now and he was okay. The sedative should’ve worn off not too long ago. 

Dick must have been more exhausted than he’d realized. He woke up in a cave, his arm burning like hell.

“Gah!”

“**Sorry, Dick. I was trying to get it into the sling.** ” Dick’s vision cleared to show Iris sitting next to him. He flinched again as she finally managed to maneuver his arm into a sling wrapped around his neck. “ **There**.”

“**Where are we?**” Dick groaned as he leaned against the rock wall of the cave, his body aching despite the salves Iris had surely used to treat him.

“**We’re near Pewter City.** ” Brock entered the cave, carrying a basket of food and supplies. “ **Forrest’s agreed to help us out with food and medical supplies. You’ve been out for almost a day. We were getting worried.**”

“**Forrest?**”

“**My younger brother. The gym leader**.”

“**What happened here? I’ve faced bias for being from another planet before, but not to this extent.**”

“**Those men convinced everyone that you killed Ash, that you cozied up to him and convinced him to trust you and then took him to Mount Coronet where you stabbed him to death.** ” Cilan explained. “ **No body was ever found though**.”

“**We went to Mount Coronet to save the champions. The Apokoliptans had them prisoner there. If I’d had a choice, I would’ve left Ash behind. But you know how he is. He always wants to help.**”

“**You’re using present tense. Please tell me that means Ash is alive?**” Iris said.

Dick hesitated. “**Well, I was hoping to use it to my advantage that no one knows his current status, but if you promise not to tell anyone…**”

“**You’re trying to keep him safe by not confirming or denying he’s alive** .” Brock caught on. “ **Don’t worry. We’ve been trying to convince people he’s still alive for weeks. Even with you here, no one will believe us.**”

“**I’m not sure whether that’s good or bad.**”

“**It’s pretty bad. The world’s split into factions. People who believe those men and are outraged at your supposed actions, people who don’t believe them and are trying to calm down that side, and people who are trying their darn hardest to stay out of the conflict.**”

“**You’re telling me a Civil War is brewing… over Ash**?”

“**Ash has saved the world countless times. Besides that, he’s always willing to lend a helping hand and has met and helped so many people.**” Brock began.

“**But you already know that from travelling with us.** ” Iris cut in. “ **The point is, some people feel indebted to him. And that’s far from a good thing when an individual, say you?, is accused of murdering him**.”

“**So they’re using his near-death against me**?”

“**Near-death? You mean he really was almost killed?**” Dick saw the alarm in their faces.

He sighed. “**Here’s what I know…**”


	14. Chapter 14

“ **Pidgey!** ” Delia looked up when a pidgey with a letter in its beak flew in the window of the room she was staying in at the Indigo Plateau. She’d been getting ready for the meeting about the state of affairs involving Dick and Ash.

Quietly, she thanked the pidgey and took the letter. It was from Brock, who thankfully had proven to be on her side in all of this. She was debating reading it later when she caught sight of smudged ink on the outside of the envelope.

“ **Urgent,** ” it read.

Frowning, she opened the letter and read the first few lines. She almost gasped. Brock had spoken with Dick? Her adoptive son was back on the Pokemon World?

“ **Delia, are you ready for the meeting?** ” Cynthia came in.

“ **I think I have some new information that’s critical to be shared.** ” Delia murmured, scanning the letter, catching words here and there about injuries and recovery. She didn’t notice she was trembling until Cynthia put a hand on her shoulder.

“ **Are you okay** ?”

“ **Ash is alive, but the picture was real. He was badly injured and only recently recovered. Dick hid him in order to protect him when he was brought back here.** ”

Cynthia took the letter from her and read it much more slowly. ** “It says here Ash is still on Dick’s planet, most likely with Dick’s allies. And also that this information needs to be shared sparingly. They’re still trying to come up with a plan to ensure his safe return. When did you get this?** ”

“ **Like, ten seconds ago.** ”

“ **You need some time to calm down. We’ll start without you. Join when you feel more steady on your feet.** ” Cynthia paused on her way out, still holding the letter. “ **Are you okay with me sharing this letter with the other champions, or would you rather hold on to it?** ”

Delia reached a hand out. Cynthia nodded and gave her back the letter before leaving Delia to compose herself.

“ **Oh, Ash. Please be okay** .”

* * *

Thud! Ash groaned as he was grounded for the third time in as many minutes. Jason was a much harsher taskmaster than Dick was and Tim seemed more content to just watch the training. If the sound of popcorn was anything to go by.

“Pika! Ka!” Nearby, Pikachu was training with Eva. And doing much better than Ash was.

“You’re not very good at this, are you?” Alfred had been teaching him English, but he still only understood about half of what Tim had just said. At least the tone was a good indication of the teasing.

“ _ Well excuse me for not being a natural. Some people don’t spend their preteens going out punching guys bigger than us. _ ” He snapped.

Jason whistled in appreciation and amusement. “ _ Perfect that snark and you could make a good Robin _ .”

“Hey! I’m Robin!” Tim scowled, having caught a bit of what Jason had just said.

“And I’m Red Hood. Nice to meet you.” Jason pretended to tip his hat to Tim.

Ash snickered, stopping when he saw Batman swoop into the training room.

Tim and Jason took notice of the Bat’s appearance as well.

“What’s up, Bats?”

“We’ve got new intel.”

They all trooped over to the Batcomputer. Batman explained what he’d found.

“I intercepted a copy of a transmission from the men Luthor stationed on Ash’s planet to Luthor. They claim they’ve succeeded in turning most of the citizens against Dick, but that a trio of Ash’s friends managed to rescue him and the four of them got away. They then ask for advice on the next course of action. Another intercepted transmission proves they’re colluding to capture both Dick and Ash. They’re intent on making sure Ash is found dead so that Dick will be convicted and killed for the crime.”

Ash frowned as Jason translated for him. “ _ What do we do? Is this why Dick left me behind? So they wouldn’t kill me and blame him for it? _ ”

“ _ Dick most likely suspected a plot of the sort. _ ” Batman agreed. “We need to get Ash home, without them knowing it’s Ash _ . _ ”

“So, Operation: Black Bird is a go?” Tim teased.

“ _ What’s that _ ?” Ash asked.

“ _ As I’m sure you’ve been informed, we’ve been working on a workaround to get you safely home. The operation Tim speaks of is a plan to pretend you are one of us. Black Bird will be your vigilante name, just as Dick goes by Nightwing and Jason goes by Red Hood. Only Robin, Red Hood, Batgirl, and myself will know you are with us. The rest will assume you are just a new protege I’ve picked up who insisted on helping with the rescue mission. _ ”

“ _ Why Black Bird? Can’t I be like… Raven Lucario or something? _ ”

“ _ Is Lucario an animal found on our planet? Or a Pokemon found on yours? _ ”

Ash pouted. “ _ Pokemon. Point taken. Fine. What’s the plan? _ ”

“ _ The plan is a rescue mission. We’re gonna save Dick. Or Nightwing, as everyone else will think. Most likely, our cover will be blown at one point. When there are enough eyes on you, you get to reveal who you really are. But be careful. We’ll tell you when we think it safe to. Revealing yourself too early could be a death sentence. _ ” Jason put his hands on Ash’s shoulders. “ _ Promise you’ll wait to reveal yourself until we give the signal. _ ”

“ _ I promise.  _ The better part of valor is discretion.”

Tim punched Jason in the arm. “How much Shakespeare have you been quoting in front of him that he is quoting Shakespeare when he still doesn’t understand English?!”

Jason snickered. “Plenty enough, it seems. That one definitely fit the occasion.” He gave Ash a high five.

“Focus, boys.  _ Ash, we need all the intel you can give us on what we’ll be dealing with on your planet. We need to be prepared. _ ”

Ash nodded in determination. “ _ Alright _ .”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important note at the end!

The meeting, even when Delia had arrived, had far from gone as planned. The champions were very divided on what stance to take in regards to Dick’s supposed crime. Innocent until proven guilty was not sticking much at all, and Steven, at the very least, was staunchly against the alien boy.

“ **He’s not from here! That has been proven! He should not be trusted!** ”

“ **Neither are his original accusers! Those men aren’t from this planet either!”**

**“That’s not proven!** **Dick, at the very least, saved our lives! Is this any way to repay him?**”

“ **He very well could have only done that to further gain Ash’s trust! We could’ve saved the kid if that brat hadn’t chased us away!”**

**“We very well could have been killed if we stayed any longer and Dick knew that. I firmly believe he never intended for Ash to get captured.”**

**“Well you are entitled to your opinion. You have no proof that it wasn’t his intent all along…”**

**“And you have no proof to the contrary! What happened to innocent until proven guilty?”**

**“The photo is enough proof.”**

**“There’s no body.”**

**“Of course there’s no body! That would be a clear conviction!”**

Delia had eventually excused herself, as what she’d been willing to share of her intel was not helping much and she was getting a headache. The arguing lasted another hour before they finally adjourned.

Cynthia found Delia in the room she’d been lent, pouring over the letter from Brock.

“ **There’s more to the story** .” Delia murmured when she saw who was visiting. “ **Brock mentions it can’t all be contained in one letter. He only shared the parts he thought most important for me to know. Said Dick could tell me the rest.”**

**“You could’ve told the others what you knew of Ash’s condition. I held back since you’re the one who received the letter and he’s your son. What gets shared should be up to you until we come face to face with Dick.”**

**“He won’t tell me where they’re hiding. Said it was safer for both my boys if nobody found them, but especially for Dick.”**

“ **They’re strong, Delia. They’ll be okay. You’ve already proven you have faith in them. Don’t lose it.** ”

* * *

It had been a long week hunkering down in the cave outside Pewter. The other side (Dick refused to call them the enemy and the others agreed abstaining from using such terminology was important) had come close more than once, but never found them.

Dick was tinkering with a pokegear at the moment. When Iris asked, he explained he was going to try to get a message out to his allies, specifically Jason and Ash.

“ **If the other side is able to intercept it, they could trace it back to us. I have to be at least 85% sure it’ll work before I even try** .”

About an hour had passed since Iris had asked that question. Cilan glanced at the opening to the cave.

“ **Brock should have been back by now. I wonder what’s keeping him.** ”

As if on cue, Brock’s Crobat flew into the cave with a note.

Cilan took the note from Crobat and read it aloud. “ **Captured by the other side. They are searching the area around Pewter thoroughly now. Run as soon as the coast is clear.** ”

Iris and Dick exchanged concerned glances.

“ **I’ll sweep the perimeter. I have stealth training from back when I was home before I got here the first time, as you know. I’ll be back in two minutes.** ” Dick decided.

“ **Wait!** ” Cilan said but he was gone.

True to his word, Dick returned exactly two minutes and twelve seconds later. “ **They’re headed in our direction. I think they mapped Crobat’s trajectory. Grab what you can carry. We have to go now.** ”

All three hurried to gather as many supplies as they could.

As soon as they were ready to leave, Iris called out her Dragonite.

“ **Climb on.** ”

“ **They’ll see us.** ” 

“ **I can hear them. They’re going to see us anyway.** ”

They fled on Dragonite, landing a while later outside Saffron City.

Iris called Dragonite back to its Pokeball.

“ **We can hide in the crowds. They won’t be able to find us. Here, Dick. Wear a hat.** ”

“ **Are you sure no one will recognize us?** ” Dick caught the hat Iris threw at him and put it on his head as best he could one-handedly.

“ **This is the biggest city in Kanto. It’s unlikely we’ll be called out, but it is a risk and we do need to be careful.** ” Cilan led the way into the city as soon as Dick had settled the hat on his head. “ **Just don’t do anything abnormal.** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all,  
I have decided it is in my best health to take a hiatus on most of my fanfiction. While I have some chapters already written and a couple stories plotted out, the act of writing these (mostly dark) stories is taking a toll on me.  
I have both OCD and ADD with a smattering if anxiety on the side. My OCD causes intrusive thoughts on very dark subjects and I need to avoid giving into the urge to write and plot out those subjects in order to get a handle on said thoughts.  
For those who have stuck with me this far, thank you so much! I have really enjoyed your comments! Worry not for I will eventually finish these when I have a handle on my own brain.  
Thank you for your understanding and hope you are staying safe, healthy, and sane during these trying times.


	16. Chapter 16

Saffron City, it turned out, was the perfect place to lay low.

With its crowds and various thrills and activities, no one spared Dick, Iris, and Cilan a second glance.

They’d been there approximately two weeks. Dick was getting antsy.

“ **We don’t know if Brock is okay and I’m being hunted.** ” He explained when Iris asked. “ **Plus, Ash was left behind on my planet with my brother when I was taken here. They’ll likely come to try to find me.** ”

“ **We’re running low on money too.** ” Cilan brought up. “ **And we have no way to get more without drawing attention to ourselves. If something doesn’t change soon, we’ll be out of luck.** ”

“ **Maybe I could change my hairstyle and outfit and work for some? I mean, they don’t have a picture of me and it’d be easier for me than Cilan.** ” Iris shrugged. “ **I despise haircuts, so nobody would suspect I’d ever change my hair.** ”

“ **No cut. I can’t ask that of you. But a different hairstyle and outfit may throw them off just enough for us to get by. You could cover your face with a scarf, too.** ” Dick said. “ **Are you okay with that? I don’t really want to ask you to do something you’re not comfortable with.** ”

“ **It’ll be okay. Just take care of Axew while I’m earning money. He’s uncommon enough in this region to grab attention when he’s not hiding in my hair.** ”

It didn’t take long for Iris to find a job. She got her first paycheck right as they ran out of money. It helped them pass the time a lot more easily. Still, they hoped they’d be able to come out of hiding soon.

* * *

Ash scratched Pikachu behind the ears, trying to hide his nerves. The Justice League’s Javelin was on course for his home planet, and he was on it… along with a bunch of strangers he didn’t know but Dick supposedly did. At least Batman had made him memorize their names before leaving.

Kid Flash was eyeing him suspiciously from where he was talking to Artemis a few feet away. Miss Martian and Superboy were standing not far from those two, engaged in their own conversation. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Black Canary were along for the ride as well. Batman had briefed all of the aforementioned individuals on some parts of the mission, but they still didn’t know the real reason Ash, or Black Bird as he was now known, was coming too.

“ _ Yo _ .” He looked up. Jason, no Red Hood, stood in front of him. “ _ There’s a training room aboard this ship. You need practice and Batgirl and Replacement are already down there. _ ”

Ash quirked his lips. “ _ He prefers to be called Robin _ .”

“ _ He could wish to be called Big Banana for all I care. Come on. Partner maneuvers with Pikachu _ .”

That got Ash up. He had been very eager to start partner maneuvers, but Red Hood and Batman had both kept telling him he wasn’t ready. Of course, now Red Hood was probably only doing it because they were running low on time, but still.

Midnight was practicing against Robin and Batgirl when they reached the training room. Both wanted to be prepared for the long-ranged attacks that would be common on Ash’s world.

Ash smirked. “ **Pikachu. Surprise Thunder Attack.** ”

Pikachu shot a bolt of lightning at Robin’s feet. The teen stumbled and fell on his butt.

Red Hood started laughing and seemed unable to stop when Robin glared at him.

Batgirl was grinning too. “Expect the unexpected.”

“Not fair. You’re all teaming up on me.”

Red Hood wiped away tears of laughter. “Okay, okay. There’s four of us and two pokemon. We’ll do partner maneuvers against each other. Take it easy on the kid, okay?”

Batgirl nodded and helped Robin up. Midnight moved over to their end of the training area.

“ _ Easiest way to teach someone to swim is to throw them in the water. You ready? _ ” Red Hood asked Ash.

It took a minute for Ash to get the reference. He swallowed and nodded. Pikachu shot him an encouraging look with a small “Pika” to boot.

“Three strikes and you’re out. If you get knocked down three times for more than five seconds each, your team loses. Ready? Go!”

Ash was certain no amount of training could have prepared him for actually fighting against fully trained vigilantes. He could tell they were trying to take it easy on him, but he still got two strikes before Red Hood managed to get Robin down three times.

They did the exercise several times. By the third time, Ash was sweating profusely while the others looked to still be in tip top shape.

The fifth time, Ash and Red Hood lost rather quickly because Ash was rather dizzy.

“ _ You did well. _ ” Red Hood handed him a water bottle. “ _ Sip slowly. I admit you made it through more rounds than I thought you would. _ ”

Ash smiled at him. “ _ Thanks, Ja… uh, Red Hood.” _

“Hey, kids. We’re landing soon. Batman wants everyone strapped in.” Kid Flash announced his presence loudly.

“Not a kid.” Red Hood grumbled.

“We’re just as capable of handling ourselves as you are, Kid Flash.” Batgirl glared at him.

Kid Flash just glanced at Ash and walked away.

Red Hood helped Ash up and let the boy lean on him as they went to take their seats. Batgirl and Robin had gone ahead and Midnight and Pikachu were intent on keeping close to Ash.

“Camouflage is on. With any luck, we’ll avoid detection.” Batman said.

“How will we speak to the locals? We’re bound to stick out.” Superboy asked.

“Black Bird knows their language. And I’m sure you all followed orders and brought civilian clothes. We do not want to be noticed before we find Nightwing.”

“Don’t get why we’re risking so much for a kid not even affiliated with the League. Is he royalty or something?” Kid Flash crossed his arms.

“Stop whining, Baywatch.” Artemis swatted at his shoulder. “We’re visiting another planet. Think about that instead of the risk.”

They landed quickly, easily, and unseen.

Before leaving the javelin, Batman split them into three groups. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Black Canary in Alpha, Kid Flash, Artemis, Miss Martian, and Superboy in Beta, and Robin, Batgirl, Red Hood, and Black Bird in Gamma. If needed, they could split into pairs, but no one went anywhere alone. He gave them translator devices. He’d tested them earlier with Ash. They would be able to translate the locals’ speech into English, but not English into the local language. He also gave them each one device that worked in the reverse, in case they found anyone who seemed willing to help.

“Remember, the goal is to find Nightwing, take him, and leave, preferably without detection. We have a lot of ground to cover, so get going.”


	17. Chapter 17

Wally shrieked as another native creature came out of nowhere.

His teammates chuckled as he landed on his behind. He scowled at them.

“The last one spit venom at me. I have a right to be on edge”

Artemis smirked. “We don’t have to worry about that since you’re taking all the hits for us.”

He glared at her.

Conner waved a hand and nodded to M’gann.

In their heads, he said. ~Someone’s coming.~

A young man about their age stumbled across their path, a weird purple bat-type thingy flying after him. He noticed them and immediately got into a defensive stance, revealing he had a broken arm and many bruises.

~Crap. Is he going to attack us?~ Artemis asked.

~No. He’s scared. He thinks we’re going to attack him.~ M’gann replied. She put her hands up in a placating gesture. ~It’s times like this I wish I spoke their language.~

The young man took a step back as she took a step forward. The purple bat creature flew in front of him defensively.

The other three raised their hands in surrender as well, hoping the motion would come across the same there as it did on Earth.

Finally, after watching them critically for a couple minutes, their translators picked up the young man’s speech. “ **Crobat, stand down** .”

The purple bat creature returned to his side.

“ **Who are you?** ” The young man asked. “ **Are you with Misty?** ”

“Who the hell’s Misty?” Wally blurted out without thinking. Artemis elbowed him hard. “Ow!”

The young man froze up momentarily. They were prepared for him to attack, but then he relaxed and held out a hand. “ **Brock** .”

Artemis took the reins. “Artemis.” She pointed to each of her friends. “Wally, Conner, M’gann.” Conner and M’gann both waved while Wally crossed his arms to hide his nerves.

“ **You’re here for Dick, aren’t you?** ” Brock said. “ **I can try to help, but I got separated from them a few weeks ago. Been running from the other faction since I managed to escape them last week.** ” He rubbed the back of his head. “ **Of course, you probably don’t understand me, but….** ”

Artemis dug out the reverse translator from her quiver, activated it, and handed it to him. She motioned it should go in his ear.

~Should we really be trusting him so easily?~ Wally asked.

~If he weren’t a friend, he would have attacked when you spoke English.~ Artemis replied. “Does the translator work? It’s supposed to work in the reverse of ours. So that you can understand us.”

Brock’s mouth opened slightly in surprise, but he recovered quickly. “ **Smart. Would’ve been handy when we first met Dick.** ”

“They’re new.” Artemis replied. “I’m assuming Nightwing and Dick are the same person. Black hair, about seventeen or eighteen?” She used her comm unit, which had a built-in holoscreen, to show him an image.

Brock nodded. “ **Yep. Same person. A lot of people here think he murdered Ash, a friend of mine who has saved our world multiple times. Those of us who have actually met and gotten to know Dick are aware the guy would rather die than allow anything to happen to Ash.** ”

“Accused of a murder he didn’t commit? That’s a hard situation to be in.”

“ **The conflict has split the world into factions. Ash has a lot of friends with varying opinions on what may have happened to him. He disappeared when Dick did.** ”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Someone’s coming.”

“ **Hide.** ” They all scrambled into hiding places, although M’gann just shifted into camouflage mode.

A group of teens ran through the clearing. “ **I think he went this way!** ”

Once they were gone, the heroes and Brock carefully reemerged.

“ **I don’t know where he is but he wouldn’t have gone out of the region. Too much travel for someone trying to lay low. I have some guesses, but I haven’t been in contact with him or my other two friends with him. I can’t confirm.** ”

“Well, we’ll head towards your best guess.”

Brock nodded and led the way cautiously in another direction. They noted he was staying away from the path. 

After two nights camping out pointedly without a campfire, they came across a bustling city around late afternoon.

“ **Saffron City. Stick together. It’ll be difficult to find each other again if we get separated.** ” Brock said.

They nodded and followed him into the city.

* * *

The sound of the gunshot rang through the air. It took Red Hood a minute to locate who out of the four of them was hit.

“Black Bird!” 

The younger boy was trying to stay standing by leaning against a tree. He was staring at the redhead girl holding the smoking gun. Even with the mask on, Red Hood could tell his eyes were wide due to what had just happened. The girl seemed as surprised at the effect as Ash was, but her surprise seemed more on the impressed side than the shocked-it-happened side.

Ash lowered himself onto his knees, trembling and clutching his stomach, as Red Hood made it to his side.

“ _ Hang tight. Let me see the wound _ .”

A hush had fallen over the locals who’d been fighting them. They’d attacked almost immediately after hearing Robin mistakenly say something in English. It had only been about ten minutes since they started fighting, the batkids intent on not hurting their opponents. How had it gotten past them that the redhead girl had a gun?

One of the locals asked the redhead girl what the weapon was, and it occurred to Red Hood they hadn’t really seen a gun before, especially not one being used.

Ash let out a whimper as Red Hood cut away his shirt and the kevlar vest underneath it.

The bullet had ripped through the kevlar vest rather easily, if the wound was anything to go by. The vest had, however, at least slowed the trajectory, a fact that may have saved Ash’s life.

Red Hood pulled off the glove on Ash’s right hand. “ _ Bite down on this. It’s going to hurt. _ ”

Ash obeyed and let out a muffled scream as Red Hood swiftly yet efficiently fished out the bullet.

It had gone a lot further in than Red Hood had thought, but the boy’s ribs had thankfully stopped it from puncturing any major organs. Red Hood’s main concern was the blood. Ash was already turning pale from the loss.

Red Hood looked up. Robin had made his way over. “Please tell me we’ve got a supply of his blood type somewhere. Or at least what the blood type is.” Robin’s face spoke for him. “Fuck! He’s losing too much too quickly!”

Robin put pressure on the wound as Red Hood searched for suture materials or something that could be used in a similar way. “ _ Black Bird, do you know your blood type? _ ”

Ash let out a low mutter. His eyes were already drifting closed. Pikachu and Midnight made it over and were trying to help Robin.

“ _ Hey. Kiddo. Stay awake _ .” Red Hood hissed.

Ash blinked. “**Tired**.” 

A glance in the direction of the locals proved that, while most of them were watching in shock, the redhead girl was aiming the gun towards Red Hood.

Robin pushed him out of the way.

Another gunshot rang through the forest. It hit the tree behind them .

They could hear shouts now. Red Hood and Robin saw Batgirl knock the redhead girl out and dismantle her gun.

Ash was still out of it.

“ _ Black Bird, we need your blood type. Do you know it _ ?”

Ash rattled off what Red Hood and Robin assumed was a blood type. Unfortunately, it was rather clear his blood type wasn’t classified in the same way as that belonging to someone from Earth.

Red Hood cut off the excess from the sutures and scooped Ash up. “We’ll need to get him to a local hospital or clinic. Quickly.”

“How? We don’t know our way around. Ash… I mean Black Bird was our guide.”

“Your tech could get us to the nearest town. Let’s hope there’s a hospital or something there.” Red Hood turned. “Batgirl, retreat!”

Batgirl and Robin covered their backs as they ran in the direction of the nearest town, according to the cartography scan Batman had supposedly taken as they’d landed only a few days earlier.

It took them nearly an hour to reach the nearest town. They tried to keep Ash awake, but he passed out half an hour in. His breathing was shallow, but he had yet to reach critical condition.

“So… how do we ask for directions?” Batgirl asked as they slowed slightly.

“Pika! Pikachu!” Pikachu called to them, a little ahead.

“We don’t. We follow Pikachu.” Red Hood replied.

They got a couple odd looks for the pieces of costume they’d kept with them, specifically their utility belts and masks. They couldn’t really bring themselves to care. They’d deal with it later.

Pikachu led them to a building with a red roof. There, he ran up to the pokemon next to a confused woman who seemed to work there and appeared to explain the situation to it.

“Chancey!” The pokemon, nearly as tall as they were, grabbed a stretcher and raced over to them. Its human coworker seemed to catch on when Red Hood laid Ash on it.

“My goodness!” The translator translated her words as she took Ash into the back. Pikachu went with them, while Midnight dutifully waited with the others.

Now that Ash was taken care of, the stares seemed more prominent. There weren’t many people in the lobby area, but everyone who was seemed to be staring at them.

“Red Hood.” Batgirl said. “We’re going to wait outside so as not to draw too much attention. Radio us when you have news.”

Red Hood nodded. He and Midnight found a place to sit while the two Bats left to find somewhere they wouldn’t be stared at.

It seemed like hours before the woman and her pokemon coworker came back out. Midnight scurried over immediately, followed by Red Hood.

The woman now looked suspicious. She asked Red Hood a couple questions. Midnight spoke to the pokemon, who seemed to be communicating with the woman.

Finally, the woman sighed and led them into the back.

The sight they walked in on was a little comical. Ash was trying to sit up and Pikachu was apparently trying to use his tiny paws to push the boy back down.

The woman said something to Ash that Red Hood didn’t quite catch. The boy visibly brightened when he saw Red Hood.

“ _ Down _ .” Red Hood demanded, pointing towards the ground with his finger.

The smile was replaced with a pout-like scowl. Rolling his eyes, Ash lay back down. He turned his head to look at Red Hood. 

“ _ Did Misty really shoot me? _ ”

“ _ Don’t know who Misty is, but it was a redhead girl who shot you. I don’t know if she knew the gun’s capabilities, but she didn’t seem regretful. _ ”

“ _ I don’t understand. She’s supposed to be my friend _ .” Ash looked sad now. Unsure of himself.

“ _ Revenge changes people. Changes them into twisted, angry versions of who they were before. While I don’t think she knew it was you, the fact she didn’t regret shooting a kid who was just trying to defend himself speaks volumes. _ ”

Ash looked at the woman, who seemed confused, and then back at Red Hood. “ _ My identity’s busted. _ ”

“ _ Ask her not to tell anyone. She might abide by it if it comes from you _ .”

Ash spoke quietly to the woman, who seemed reluctant but nodded in what seemed to be consent. While he did that, Red Hood sent a message to the others that he was with Ash and the boy seemed to be doing better.

_ “Nurse Joy wants me to stay here for a few days. At the very least overnight. So that I don’t aggravate my wounds. _ ” Ash explained when the woman left.

Red Hood glanced after her. “ _ Overnight can be done. We still haven’t found Dick yet though. None of the other teams have radioed in a sighting either. _ ”

“ _ He’s probably laying low or hiding. He kind of has to, with such a big target on his head here. I… I just don’t understand why there are people committing such atrocious acts in my name.” _

_ “Sorry, kid. I have no answers _ .”

Red Hood got a message back that Batgirl and Robin had found a place to lay low. They wanted him to stay with Ash to delay the younger’s discovery. He agreed.


End file.
